University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

From  the  Collection  of 
JOSEPH  Z.  TODD 

Gift  of 
Hatherly  B.  Todd 


COL.  J.  J.  Ar-rr.T. 


J.  C.  FREMONT, 
J,ieut.  Col  Mounted  Rifles. 


OREGON   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

THE 

EXPLORING  EXPEDITION 

TO  THE 

•      ROCKY  MOUNTAINS, 

OREGON  AND  CALIFORNIA, 

BY  BREVET  COL.  J.  C.  FREMONT. 

TO  WHICH  IS  ADDED  A  DESCRIPTION  OP  THI 

PF  FSICAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


WITH  RECENT  NOTICES  OF 


THE  GOLD  REGION 


FROM  THE  LATEST  AND  MOST  AUTHENTIC  SOURCES. 


BUFFALO: 
GEO.  -H.    DERBY   AND    00. 

1851 


JEWETT,    THOMAS    AND    CO.    STEREOTVPERS. 


PREFACE. 


No  work  has  appeared  from  the  American  press 
tvithin  the  past  few  years  better  calculated  to  interest 
the  community  at  large  than  Colonel  J.  C.  Fremont's 
Narrative  of  his  Exploring  Expedition  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  Oregon,  and  North  California,  undertaken 
by  the  orders  of  the  United  States  government. 

Eminently  qualified  for  the  task  assigned  him,  Colonel 
Fremont  entered  upon  his  duties  with  alacrity,  and  has 
embodied  in  the  following  pages  the  results  of  his  obser- 
vations. The  country  thus  explored  is  daily  making 
deeper  and  more  abiding  impressions  upon  the  minds 
of  the  people,  and  information  is  eagerly  sought  in  re- 
gard to  its  natural  resources,  its  climate,  inhabitants, 
productions,  and  adaptation  for  supplying  the  wants 
and  providing  the  comforts  for  a  dense  population. 
The  day  is  not  far  distant  when  that  territory,  hitherto 
so  little  known,  will  be  intersected  by  railroads,  its  wa- 
ters navigated,  and  its  fertile  portions  peopled  by  an 
active  and  intelligent  population. 

To  all  persons  interested  in  the  successful  extension 
of  our  free  institutions  over  this  now  wilderness  portion 
of  our  land,  this  work  of  Fremont  commends  itself  as 
a  faithful  and  accurate  statement  of  the  present  state 
of  affairs  in  that  country. 


PREFACE. 


Since  the  preparation  of  this  report,  Colonel  Fremont  has 
been  engaged  in  still  farther  explorations  by  order  of  the  govern- 
ment, the  results  of  which  will  probably  be  presented  to  the 
country  as  soon  as  he  shall  be  relieved  from  his  present  arduous 
and  responsible  station.  He  is  now  engaged  in  active  military 
service  in  New  Mexico,  and  has  won  imperishable  renown  by  his 
rapid  and  successful  subjugation  of  that  country. 

The  map  accompanying  this  edition  is  not  the  one  prepared  by 
the  order  of  government,  but  it  is  one  that  can  be  relied  upon  for 
its  accuracy. 

JULY,  1847. 


ADVERTISEMENT  TO  THE  NEW  EDITION. 

The  dreams  of  the  visionary  have  "  come  to  pass !  "  the  unseen 
El  Dorado  of  the  "fathers"  looms,  in  all  its  virgin  freshness  and 
beauty,  before  the  eyes  of  their  children !  The  "  set  time  "  for 
the  Golden  age,  the  advent  of  which  has  been  looked  for  and 
longed  for  during  many  centuries  of  iron  wrongs  and  hardships, 
has  fully  come.  In  the  sunny  clime  of  the  south  west — in  Upper 
California  —  may  be  found  the  modern  Canaan,  a  land  "flowing 
with  milk  and  honey,"  its  mountains  studded  and  its  rivers  lined 
and  choked,  with  gold  I 

He  who  would  know  more  of  this  rich  and.  rare  land  before 
commencing  his  pilgrimage  to  its  golden  bosom,  will  find,  in  the 
last  part  of  this  new  edition  of  a  most  deservedly  popular  work, 
a  succinct  yet  comprehensive  account  of  its  inexhaustible  riches 
and  its  transcendent  loveliness,  and  a  fund  of  much  needed 
information  in  regard  to  the  several  routes  which  lead  to  its  invi- 
ting borders. 

JANUARY  1849. 


A   REPORT 

« 

ON 

AN  EXPLORATION  ,OF  THE  COUNTRY 

LYING  BETWEEN  THE 

MISSOURI  RIVER  AND   THE   ROCKY  MOUNTAINS, 

ON  THE  LINE  OF  THE 

KANSAS  AND  GREAT  PLATTE  RIVERS, 


WASHINGTON,  March  1,  1843. 
To  Colonel  J.  J.  ABERT,  Chief  of  the  Corps  of  Top.  Eng. 

SIR  :  Agreeably  to  your  orders  to  explore  and  report  upon 
the  country  between  the  frontiers  of  Missouri  and  the  South 
Pass  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  on  the  line  of  the  Kansas 
and  Great  Platte  rivers,  I  set  out  from  Washington  city  on  the 
2d  day  of  May,  1842,  and  arrived  at  St.  Louis  by  way  of  New 
York,  the  22d  of  May,  where  the  necessary  preparations  were 
completed,  and  the  expedition  commenced.  I  proceeded  in  a 
steamboat  to  Chouteau's  landing,  about  four  hundred  miles  by 
water  from  St.  Louis,  and  near  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river, 
whence  we  proceeded  twelve  miles  to  Mr.  Cyprian  Chouteau's 
trading-house,  where  we  completed  our  final  arrangements  for 
the  expedition. 

Bad  weather,  which  interfered  with  astronomical  observa- 
tions, delayed  us  several  days  in  the  early  part  of  June  at  this 
post,  which  is  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Kansas  river,  about 
ten  miles  above  the  mouth,  and  six  beyond  the  western  bound- 
ary of  Missouri,  The  sky  cleared  off  at  length  and  we  were 


6  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

enabled  to  determine  our  position,  in  longitude  90°  25'  46",  and 
latitude  39°  5'  57".  The  elevation  above  the  sea  is  about  700 
feet.  Our  camp,  in  the  mean  time,  presented  an  animated  and 
bustling  scene.  All  were  busily  engaged  in  completing  the 
necessary  arrangements  for  our  campaign  in  the  wilderness, 
and  profiting  by  this  short  stay  on  the  verge  of  civilization,  to 
provide  ourselves  with  all  the  little  essentials  to  comfort  in  the 
nomadic  life  we  were  to  lead  for  the  ensuing  summer  months. 
Gradually,  however,  every  thing — the  materiel  of  the  camp — 
men,  horses,  and  even  mules — settled  into  its  place ;  and  by 
the  10th  we  were  ready  to  depart ;  but,  before  we  mount  our 
horses,  I  will  give  a  short  description  of  the  party  with  which 
I  performed  the  service. 

I  had  collected  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Louis  twenty-one 
men,  principally  Creole  and  Canadian  voyageurs,  who  had  be- 
come familiar  with  prairie  life  in  the  service  of  the  fur  com]  >a- 
nies  in  the  Indian  country.  Mr.  Charles  Preuss,  a  native  of 
Germany,  was  my  assistant  in  the  topographical  part  of  the  sur- 
vey j  L.  Maxwell,  of  Kaskaskia,  had  been  engaged  as  hunter, 
and  Christopher  Carson  (more  familiarly  known,  for  his  ex- 
ploits in  the  mountains,  as  Kit  Carson)  was  our  guide.  The 
persons  engaged  in  St.  Louis  were  : 

Clement  Lambert,  J.  B.  L'Esperance,  J.  B.  Lefevre,  Ben- 
jamin Potra,  Louis  Gouin,  J.  B.  Dumes,  Basil  Lajeunesse, 
Fran9ois  Tessier,  Benjamin  Cadotte,  Joseph  Clement,  Daniel 
Simonds,  Leonard  Benoit,  Michel  Morly,  Baptiste  Bernier, 
Honore  Ayot,  Francois  La  Tulipe,  Francis  Badeau,  Louis 
Menard,  Joseph  Ruelle,  Moise  Chardonnais,  Auguste  Janisse, 
Raphael  Proue. 

In  addition  to  these,  Henry  Brant,  son  of  Col.  J.  B.  Brant, 
of  St.  Louis,  a  young  man  of  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  Ran- 
dolph, a  lively  boy  of  twelve,  son  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  H. 
Benton,  accompanied  me,  for  the  development  of  mind  and 
body  such  an  expedition  would  give.  We  were  well  armed 
and  mounted,  with  the  exception  of  eight  men,  who  conducted 
as  many  carts,  in  which  were  packed  our  stores,  with  the  bag- 
gage and  instruments,  and  which  were  drawn  by  two  mules. 
A  few  loose  horses,  and  four  oxen,  which  had  been  added  to 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  7 

our  stock  of  provisions,  completed  the  train.  We  set  out  on 
the  morning  of  the  10th,  which  happened  to  be  Friday,  a 
circumstance  which  our  men  did  not  fail  to  remember  and  re- 
call during  the  hardships  and  vexations  of  the  ensuing  jour- 
ney. Mr.  Cyprian  Chouteau,  to  whose  kindness,  during  our 
stay  at  his  house,  we  were  much  indebted,  accompanied  us 
several  miles  on  our  way,  until  we  met  an  Indian,  whom  he 
had  engaged  to  conduct  us  on  the  first  thirty  or  forty  miles, 
where  he  was  to  consign  us  to  the  ocean  of  prairie,  which,  we 
were  told,  stretched  without  interruption  almost  to  the  base  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains. 

From  the  belt  of  wood  which  borders  the  Kansas,  in  which 
we  had  passed  several  good-looking  Indian  farms,  we  suddenly 
emerged  on  the  prairies,  which  received  us^it  the  outset  with 
some  of  their  striking  characteristics ;  for  here  and  there  rode 
an  Indian,  and  but  a  few  miles  distant  heavy  clouds  of  smoke 
were  rolling  before  the  fire.  In  about  ten  miles  we  reached 
the  Santa  Fe  road,  along  which  we  continued  for  a  short  time, 
and  encamped  early  on  a  small  stream — having  traveled  about 
eleven  miles.  During  our  journey,  it  was  the  customary 
practice  to  encamp  an  hour  or  two  before  sunset,  when  the 
carts  were  disposed  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  barricade  around  a 
circle  some  eighty  yards  in  diameter.  The  tents  were  pitched, 
and  the  horses  hobbled  and  turned  loose  to  graze  ;  and  but  a 
few  minutes  elapsed  before  the  cooks  of  the  messes,  of  which 
there  were  four,  were  busily  engaged  in  preparing  the  evening 
meal.  At  nightfall,  the  horses,  mules,  and  oxen  were  driven 
in  and  picketed, — that  is,  secured  by  a  halter,  of  which  one 
end  was  tied  to  a  small  steel-shod  picket,  and  driven  into  the 
ground ;  the  halter  being  twenty  or  thirty  feet  long,  which  en- 
abled them  to  obtain  a  little  food  during  the  night.  When  we 
had  reached  a  part  of  the  country  where  such  a  precaution 
became  necessary,  the  carts  being  regularly  arranged  for  de- 
fending the  camp,  guard  was  mounted  at  eight  o'clock,  con- 
sisting of  three  men,  who  were  relieved  every  two  hours — the 
morning-watch  being  horse-guard  for  the  day.  At  daybreak 
the  camp  was  roused,  the  animals  turned  loose  to  graze,  and 
breakfast  generally  over  between  six  and  seven  o'clock,  when 


8  CAPT.  FREMONTS  NARRATIVE. 

we  resumed  our  march,  making  regularly  a  halt  at  noon  for 
one  or  two  hours.  Such  was  usually  the  order  of  the  day, 
except  when  accident  of  country  forced  a  variation ;  which, 
however,  happened  but  rarely.  We  traveled  the  next  day 
along  the  Santa  Fe  road,  which  we  left  in  the  afternoon,  and 
encamped  late  in  the  evening  on  a  small  creek,  called  by  the 
Indians,  Mishmagwi.  Just  as  we  arrived  at  camp,  one  of  the 
horses  set  off  at  full  speed  on  his  return,  and  was  followed  by 
others.  Several  men  were  sent  in  pursuit,  and  returned  with 
the  fugitives  about  midnight,  with  the  exception  of  one  man, 
who  did  not  make  his  appearance  until  morning.  He  had 
lost  his  way  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  slept  on  the 
prairie.  Shortly  after  midnight  it  began  to  rain  heavily,  and, 
as  our  tents  were  of  light  and  thin  cloth,  they  offered  but  lit- 
tle obstruction  to  the  rain :  we  were  all  well  soaked,  and  glad 
when  morning  came.  We  had  a  rainy  march  on  the  12th, 
but  the  weather  grew  fine  as  the  day  advanced.  We  encamp- 
ed in  a  remarkably  beautiful  situation  on  the  Kansas  bluffs, 
which  commanded  a  fine  view  of  the  river  valley,  here  from 
four  to  five  miles  wide.  The  central  portion  was  occupied 
by  a  broad  belt  of  heavy  timber,  and  nearer  the  hills  the 
prairies  were  of  the  richest  verdure.  One  of  the  oxen  was 
killed  here  for  food. 

We  reached  the  ford  of  the  Kansas  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
14th,  where  the  river  was  two  hundred  and  thirty  yards  wide, 
and  commenced,  immediately,  preparations  for  crossing.  I 
had  expected  to  find  the  river  fordable  ;  but  it  had  swollen  by 
the  late  rains,  and  was  sweeping  by  with  an  angry  current, 
yellow  and  turbid  as  the  Missouri.  Up  to  this  point  the  road 
we  had  traveled  was  a  remarkably  fine  one,  well  beaten,  and 
level — the  usual  road  of  a  prairie  country.  By  our  route,  the 
ford  was  one  hundred  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas 
river.  Several  mounted  men  led  the  way  into  the  stream  to 
swim  across.  The  animals  were  driven  in  after  them,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  all  had  reached  the  opposite  bank  in  safety, 
with  the  exception  of  the  oxen,  which  swam  sqrne  distance 
down  the  river,  and,  returning  to  the  right  bank,  were  not  got 
over  till  the  next  morning.  In  the  mean  time,  the  carts  had 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  9 

been  unloaded  and  dismantled,  and  an  India-rubber  boac,  which 
I  had  brought  with  me  for  the  survey  of  the  Platte  river, 
placed  in  the  water.  The  boat  was  twenty  feet  long  and  five 
broad,  and  on  it  were  placed  the  body  and  wheels  of  a  cart, 
with  the  load  belonging  to  it,  and  three  men  with  paddles. 

The  velocity  of  the  '  current,  and  the  inconvenient  freight, 
rendering  it  difficult  to  be  managed,  Basil  Lajeunesse,  one  of 
our  best  swimmers,  took  in  his  teeth  a  line  attached  to  the 
boat,  and  swam  ahead  in  order  to  reach  a  footing  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  assist  in  drawing  her  over.  In  this  manner  six 
passages  had  been  successfully  made,  and  as  many  carts  with 
their  contents,  and  a  greater  portion  of  the  party,  deposited  on 
the  left  bank  ;  but  night  was  drawing  near,  and,  in  our  anx- 
iety to  have  all  over  before  the  darkness  closed  in,  I  put  upon 
the  boat  the  remaining  two  carts,  with  their  accompanying 
load.  The  man  at  the  helm  was  timid  on  water,  and  in  his 
alarm  capsized  the  boat.  Carts,  barrels,  boxes,  and  bales, 
were  in  a  moment  floating  down  the  current ;  but  all  the  men 
who  were  on  the  shore  jumped  into  the  water,  without  stopping 
to  think  if  they  could  swim,  and  almost  every  thing — even 
heavy  articles,  such  as  guns  and  lead — was  recovered. 

Two  of  the  men  who  could  not  swim  came  nigh  being 
drowned,  and  all  the  sugar  belonging  to  one  of  the  messes 
wasted  its  sweets  on  the  muddy  waters  ;  but  our  heaviest  loss 
was  a  large  bag  of  coffee,  which  contained  nearly  all  our  pro- 
vision. It  was  a  loss  which  none  but  a  traveler  in  a  strange 
and  inhospitable  country  can  appreciate ;  and  often  afterward, 
when  excessive  toil  and  long  marching  had  overcome  us  with 
fatigue  and  weariness,  we  remembered  and  mourned  over  our 
loss  in  the  Kansas.  Carson  and  Maxwell  had  been  much 
in  the  water  yesterday,  and  both,  in  consequence,  were  taken 
ill.  The  former  continuing  so,  I  remained  in  camp.  A  num- 
ber of  Kansas  Indians  visited  us  to-day.  Going  up  to  one  of 
the  groups  who  were  scattered  among  the  trees,  I  found  one 
sitting  on  the  ground,  among  some  of  the  men,  gravely  and 
fluently  speaking  French,  with  as  much  facility  and  as  little 
embarrassment  as  any  of  my  own  party,  who  were  nearly  all 
of  French  origin. 
1* 


10  CAPT.  FREMONT  S  NARRATIVE.         [JUNE, 

On  all  sides  was  heard  the  strange  language  of  his  own  peo- 
ple, wild,  and  harmonizing  well  with  their  appearance.  ! 
listened  to  him  for  some  time  with  feelings  of  strange  curiosity 
and  interest.  He  was  now  apparently  thirty-five  years  of  age; 
and,  on  inquiry,  I  learned  that  he  had  been  at  St.  Louis  when 
a  boy,  and  there  had  learned  the  French  language.  From  one 
of  the  Indian  women  I  obtained  a  fine  cow  and  calf  in  ex- 
change for  a  yoke  of  oxen.  Several  of  them  brought  us  vege- 
tables, pumpkins,  onions,  beans,  and  lettuce.  One  of  them 
brought  butter,  and  from  a  half-breed  near  the  river,  I  had  the 
good  fortune  to  obtain  some  twenty  or  thirty  pounds  of  coffee. 
The  dense  timber  in  which  we  had  encamped  interfered  with 
astronomical  observations,  and  our  wet  and  damaged  stores 
required  exposure  to  the  sun.  Accordingly,  the  tents  were 
struck  early  the  next  morning,  and,  leaving  camp  at  six 
o'clock,  we  moved  about  seven  miles  up  the  river,  to  a  hand- 
some,  open  prairie,  some  twenty  feet  above  the  water,  where 
the  fine  grass  afforded  a  luxurious  repast  to  our  horses. 

During  the  day  we  occupied  ourselves  in  making  astrono- 
mical observations,  in  order  to  lay  down  the  country  to  this 
place ;  it  being  our  custom  to  keep  up  our  map  regularly  in 
the  field,  which  we  found  attended  with  many  advantages. 
The  men  were  kept  busy  in  drying  the  provisions,  painting  the 
cart  covers,  and  otherwise  completing  our  equipage,  until  the 
afternoon,  when  powder  was  distributed  to  them,  and  they 
spent  some  hours  in  firing  at  a  mark.  We  were  now  fairly 
in  the  Indian'country,  and  it  began  to  be  time  to  prepare  for 
the  chances  of  the  wilderness. 

17th. — The  weather  yesterday  had  not  permitted  us  to  make 
the  observations  I  was  desirous  to  obtain  here,  and  I  therefore 
did  not  move  to-day.  The  people  continued  their  target  fir- 
ing.  In  the  steep  bank  of  the  river  here,  were  nests  of  innu- 
merable swallows,  into  one  of  which  a  large  prairie  snake  had 
got  about  half  his  body,  and  was  occupied  in  eating  the  young 
birds.  The  old  ones  were  flying  about  in  great  distress,  dart- 
ing at  him,  and  vainly  endeavoring  to  drive  him  off.  A  shot 
wounded  him,  and,  being  killed,  he  was  cut  open,  and  eighteen 
young  swallows  were  found  in  his  bodv.  A  sudden  storm. 


4842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  11 

tfiat  burst  upon  us  in  the  afternoon,  cleared  away  in  a  brilliant 
sunset,  followed  by  a  clear  night,  which  enabled  us  to  deter- 
mine our  position  in  longitude  95°  38'  05",  and  in  latitude 
39°  06'  40". 

A  party  of  emigrants  to  the  Columbia  river,  under  the 
charge  of  Dr.  White,  an  agent  of  the  government  in  Oregon 
Territory,  were  about  three  weeks  in  advance  of  us.  They 
consisted  of  men,  women,  and  children.  There  were  sixty- 
four  men,  and  sixteen  or  seventeen  families.  They  had  a  con- 
siderable number  of  cattle,  and  w«re  transporting  their  house- 
hold furniture  in  large,  heavy  wagons.  I  understood  that 
there  had  been  much  sickness  among  them,  and  that  they  had 
lost  several  children.  One  of  the  party  who  had  lost  his 
child,  and  whose  wife  was  very  ill,  had  left  them  about  one 
hundred  miles  hence  on  the  prairies  j  and  as  a  hunter,  who 
had  accompanied  them,  visited  our  camp  this  evening,  we 
availed  ourselves  of  his  return  to  the  States  to  write  to  our 
friends. 

The  morning  of  the  18th  was  very  unpleasant.  A  fine  ram 
was  falling,  with  cold  wind  from  the  north,  and  mists  made 
the  river  hills  look  dark  and  gloomy.  We  left  our  camp  at 
seven,  journeying  along  the  foot  of  the  hills  which  border  the 
Kansas  valley,  generally  about  three  miles  wide,  and  extreme- 
ly rich.  We  halted  for  dinner,  after  a  march  of  about  thir- 
teen miles,  on  the  banks  of  one  of  the  many  little  tributaries 
to  the  Kansas,  which  look  like  trenches  in  the  prairie,  and  are 
usually  well  timbered.  After  crossing  this  stream,  I  rode 
off  some  miles  to  the  left,  attracted  by  the  appearance  of  a 
cluster  of  huts  near  the  mouth  of  the  Vermilion.  It  was  a 
large  but  deserted  Kansas  village,  scattered  in  an  open  wood, 
along  the  margin  of  the  stream,  chosen  with  the  customary 
Indian  fondness  for  beauty  of  scenery.  The  Pawnees  had  at- 
tacked it  in  the  early  spring.  Some  of  the  houses  were  burnt, 
and  others  blackened  with  smoke,  and  weeds  were  already 
getting  possession  of  the  cleared  places.  Riding  up  the  Ver- 
milion river,  I  reached  the  ford  in  time  to  meet  the  carts,  and, 
crossing,  encamped  on  its  western  side.  The  weather  con- 
tinued cold,  the  thermometer  being  this  evening  as  low  as  49° ; 


12  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Jui*F, 

but  the  night  was  sufficiently  clear  for  astronomical  observa- 
tions, which  placed  us  in  longitude  96°  04'  07",  and  latitude 
39°  15'  19".  At  sunset,  the  barometer  was  at  28-845,  ther- 
mometer 64°. 

We  breakfasted  the  next  morning  at  half-past  five,  and  left 
our  encampment  early.  The  morning  was  cool,  the  ther- 
mometer being  at  45°.  Quitting  the  river  bottom,  the  road 
ran  along  the  uplands,  over  a  rolling  country,  generally  in 
view  of  the  Kansas  from  eight  to  twelve  miles  distant.  Many 
large  boulders,  of  a  very  compact  sandstone,  of  various  shades 
of  red,  some  of  them  of  four  or  five  tons  in  weight,  were  scat- 
tered along  the  hills ;  and  many  beautiful  plants  in  flower, 
among  which  the  amorpha  canescens  was  a  characteristic,  en- 
livened the  green  of  the  prairie.  At  the  heads  of  the  ravines  I 
remarked,  occasionally,  thickets  of  saix  longifolia,  the  most 
common  willow  of  the  country.  We  traveled  nineteen  miles 
and  pitched  our  tents  at  evening  on  the  head- waters  of  a  small 
creek,  now  nearly  dry,  but  having  in  its  bed  several  fine 
springs.  The  barometer  indicated  a  considerable  rise  in  the 
country — here  about  fourteen  hundred  feet  above  the  sea — and 
the  increased  elevation  appeared  already  to  have  some  slight 
influence  upon  vegetation.  The  night  was  cold,  with  a  heavy 
dew ;  the  thermometer  at  10  p.  M.  standing  at  46°,  barometer 
28-483.  Our  position  was  in  longitude  96°  14'  49",  and  lati- 
tude 39°  30'  40". 

The  morning  of  the  20th  was  fine,  with  a  southerly  breeze 
and  a  bright  sky  ;  and  at  seven  o'clock  we  were  on  the  march. 
The  country  to-day  was  rather  more  broken,  rising  still,  and 
covered  everywhere  with  fragments  of  silicious  limestone, 
particularly  on  the  summits,  where  they  were  small,  and 
thickly  strewed  as  pebbles  on  the  shore  of  the  sea.  In  these 
exposed  situations  grew  but  few  plants ;  though,  whenever  the 
soil  was  good  and  protected  from  the  winds,  in  the  creek  bot- 
toms and  ravines,  and  on  the  slopes,  they  flourished  abundant- 
ly ;  among  them  the  am&rpha,  still  retaining  its  characteristic 
place.  We  crossed,  at  10  A.  M.,  the  Big  Vermilion,  which 
has  a  rich  bottom  of  about  one  mile  in  breadth,  one-third  of 
which  is  occupied  by  timber.  Making  our  usual  halt  at  noon, 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  13 

after  a  day's  march  of  twenty-four  miles,  we  reached  the  Big 
Blue,  and  encamped  on  the  uplands  of  the  western  side,  near 
a  small  creek,  where  was  a  fine  large  spring  of  very  cold  wa- 
ter. This  is  a  clear  and  handsome  stream,  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  wide,  running  with  a  rapid  current,  through  a 
well-timbered  valley.  To-day  antelope  were  seen  running 
over  the  hills,  and  at  evening  Carson  brought  us  a  fine  deei. 
Longitude  of  the  camp  96°  32'  35",  latitude  39°  45'  08". 
Thermometer  at  sunset  75°.  A  pleasant  southerly  breeze 
and  fine  morning  had  given  place  to  a  gale,  with  indications 
of  bad  weather  ;  when,  after  a  march  of  ten  miles,  we  halted 
to  noon  on  a  small  creek,  where  the  water  stood  in  deep  pools. 
In  the  bank  of  the  creek  limestone  made  its  appearance  in  a 
stratum  about  one  foot  thick.  In  the  afternoon,  the  people 
seemed  to  suffer  for  want  of  water.  The  road  led  along  a  high 
dry  ridge  ;  dark  lines  of  timber  indicated  the  heads  of  streams 
in  the  plains  below ;  but  there  was  no  water  near,  and  the  day 
was  oppressive,  with  a  hot  wind,  and  the  thermometer  at  90°. 
Along  our  route  the  amorpha  has  been  in  very  abundant  but 
variable  bloom — in  some  places  bending  beneath  the  weight  of 
purple  clusters ;  in  others  without  a  flower.  It  seemed  to  love 
best  the  sunny  slopes,  with  a  dark  soil  and  southern  exposure. 
Everywhere  the  rose  is  met  with,  and  reminds  us  of  cultivated 
gardens  and  civilization.  It  is  scattered  over  the  prairies  in 
small  bouquets,  and,  when  glittering  in  the  dews  and  waving 
in  the  pleasant  breeze  of  the  early  morning,  is  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  the  prairie  flowers.  The  artemisia,  absinthe,  or  prairie 
sage,  as  it  is  variously  called,  is  increasing  in  size,  and  glit- 
tering like  silver,  as  the  southern  breeze  turns  up  its  leaves  to 
the  sun.  All  these  plants  have  their  insect  inhabitants,  vari. 
ously  colored — taking  generally  the  hue  of  the  flower  on  which 
they  live.  The  artemisia  has  its-  small  fly  accompanying  it 
through  every  change  of  elevation  and  latitude ;  and  wherever 
I  have  seen  the  asclepias  tuberosa,  I  have  always  remarked, 
too,  on  the  flower  a  large  butterfly,  so  nearly  resembling  it 
in  color  as  to  be  distinguishable  at  a  little  distance  only  by 
the  motion  of  its  wings.  Traveling  on,  the  fresh  traces  of 
the  Oregon  emigrants  relieve  a  little  thp.  lr»npi'n«ss  of  the  road; 


J4  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

and  to-night,  after  a  march  of  twenty-two  miles,  we  halted  on 
a  small  creek  which  had  been  one  of  their  encampments.  As 
we  advanced  westward,  the  soil  appears  to  be  getting  more 
sandy ;  and  the  surface  rock,  an  erratic  deposite  of  sand  and 
gravel,  rests  here  on  a  bed  of  coarse  yellow  and  gray  and  very 
friable  sandstone.  Evening  closed  over  with  rain  and  its  usual 
attendant  hordes  of  mosquitoes,  with  which  we  were  annoyed 
for  the  first  time. 

22d. — We  enjoyed  at  breakfast  this  morning  a  luxury,  very 
unusual  in  this  country,  in  a  cup  of  excellent  coffee,  with 
cream  from  our  cow.  Being  milked  at  night,  cream  was  thus 
had  in  the  morning.  Our  mid-day  halt  was  at  Wyeth's  creek, 
in  the  bed  of  which  were  numerous  boulders  of  dark,  ferru- 
ginous sandstone,  mingled  with  others  of  the  red  sandstone 
already  mentioned.  Here  a  pack  of  cards,  lying  loose  on  the 
grass,  marked  an  encampment  of  our  Oregon  emigrants ;  and 
it  was  at  the  close  of  the  day  when  we  made  our  bivouac  in 
the  midst  of  some  well-timbered  ravines  near  the  Little  Blue, 
twenty-four  miles  from  our  camp  of  the  preceding  night. 
Crossing  the  next  morning  a  number  of  handsome  creeks,  with 
water  clear  and  sandy  beds,  we  reached,  at  10  A.  M.,  a  very 
beautiful  wooded  stream,  about  thirty-five  feet  wide,  called 
Sandy  creek,  and  sometimes,  as  the  Ottoes  frequently  wintei 
there,  the  Otto  fork.  The  country  has  become  very  sandy, 
and  the  plants  less  varied  and  abundant,  with  the  exception  of 
the  amorpha,  which  rivals  the  grass  in  quantity,  though  not  sc 
forward  as  it  has  been  found  to  the  eastward. 

At  the  Big  Trees,  where  we  had  intended  to  noon,  no  watei 
was  to  be  found.  The  bed  of  the  little  creek  was  perfectly 
dry,  and,  on  the  adjacent  sandy  bottom,  cacti,  for  the  first  time, 
made  their  appearance.  We  made  here  a  short  delay  in  search 
of  water ;  and,  after  a  hard  day's  march  of  twenty-eight  miles, 
encamped,  at  5  o'clock,  on  the  Little  Blue,  where  our  arrival 
made  a  scene  of  the  Arabian  desert.  As  fast  as  they  arrived 
men  and  horses  rushed  into  the  stream,  where  they  bathed  ancr 
drank  together  in  common  enjoyment.  We  were  now  in  the 
range  of  the  Pawnees,  who  were  accustomed  to  infest  this  part 
of  the  country,  stealing  horses  from  companies  on  their  way 


1842.J  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  15 

to  the  mountains  ;  and,  when  in  sufficient  force,  openly  attack- 
ing  and  plundering  them,  and  subjecting  them  to  various  kinds 
of  insult.  For  the  first  time,  therefore,  guard  was  mounted 
to-night.  Our  route  the  next  morning  lay  up  the  valley, 
which,  bordered  by  hills  with  graceful  slopes,  looked  uncom- 
monly green  and  beautiful.  The  stream  was  about  fifty  feet 
wide,  and  three  or  four  deep,  fringed  by  cotton- wood  and  wil- 
low, with  frequent  groves  of  oak,  tenanted  by  flocks  of 
turkeys.  Game  here,  too,  made  its  appearance  in  greater 
plenty.  Elk  were  frequently  seen  on  the  hills,  and  now  and 
then  an  antelope  bounded  across  our  path,  or  a  deer  broke 
from  the  groves.  The  road  in  the  afternoon  was  over  the 
upper  prairies,  several  miles  from  the  river,  and  we  encamped 
at  sunset  on  one  of  its  small  tributaries,  where  an  abundance 
of  prele  (equisetum)  afforded  fine  forage  to  our  tired  animals. 
We  had  traveled  thirty-one  miles.  A  heavy  bank  of  black 
clouds  in  the  west  came  on  us  in  a  storm  between  nine  and 
ten,  preceded  by  a  violent  wind.  The  rain  fell  in  such  tor- 
rents that  it  was  difficult  to  breathe  facing  the  wind ;  the 
thunder  rolled  incessantly,  and  the  whole  sky  was  tremulous 
with  lightning — now  and  then  illuminated  by  a  blinding  flash, 
succeeded  by  pitchy  darkness.  Carson  had  the  watch  from 
ten  to  midnight,  and  to  him  had  been  assigned  our  young 
compagnons  de  voyage,  Messrs.  Brant  and  R.  Benton.  This 
was  their  first  night  on  guard,  and  such  an  introduction  did 
not  augur  very  auspiciously  of  the  pleasures  of  the  expedi- 
tion. Many  things  conspired  to  render  their  situation  un- 
comfortable ;  stories  of  desperate  and  bloody  Indian  fights 
were  rife  in  the  camp  ;  our  position  was  badly  chosen,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  timbered  hollows,  and  occupying  an 
area  of  several  hundred  feet,  so  that  necessarily  the  guards 
were  far  apart ;  and  now  and  then  I  could  hear  Randolph,  as 
if  relieved  by  the  sound  of  a  voice  in  the  darkness,  calling  out 
to  the  sergeant  of  the  guard,  to  direct  his  attention  to  some 
imaginary  alarm ;  but  they  stood  it  out,  and  took  their  turn 
regularly  afterwards. 

The  next  morning  we  had  a  specimen  of  the  false  alarms  to 
which  all  parties  in  these  wild  regions  are  subject.     Proceed. 


16  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE. 

ing  up  the  valley,  objects  were  seen  on  the  opposite  hills, 
which  disappeared  before  a  glass  could  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  them.  A  man  who  was  a  short  distance  in  the  rear, 
came  springing  up  in  great  haste,  shouting  "  Indians  !  Indians !" 
He  had  been  near  enough  to  see  and  count  them,  according  to 
his  report,  and  had  made  out  twenty-seven.  I  immediately 
halted  ;  arms  were  examined  and  put  in  order ;  the  usual  pre- 
parations made  ;  and  Kit  Carson,  springing  upon  one  of  the 
hunting  horses,  crossed  the  river,  and  galloped  off  into  the 
opposite  prairies,  to  obtain  some  certain  intelligence  of  their 
movements. 

Mounted  on  a  fine  horse,  without  a  saddle,  and  scouring  bare- 
headed over  the  prairies,  Kit  was  one  of  the  finest  pictures  of 
a  horseman  I  have  ever  seen.  A  short  time  enabled  him  to 
discover  that  the  Indian  war-party  of  twenty-seven  consisted 
of  six  elk,  who  had  been  gazing  curiously  at  our  caravan  as 
it  passed  by,  and  were  now  scampering  off  at  full  speed. 
This  was  our  first  alarm,  and  its  excitement  broke  agreeably 
on  the  monotony  of  the  day.  At  our  noon  halt,  the  men  were 
exercised  at  a  target ;  and  in  the  evening  we  pitched  our  tents 
at  a  Pawnee  encampment  of  last  July.  They  had  apparently 
killed  buffalo  here,  as  many  bones  were  lying  about,  and  the 
frames  where  the  hides  had  been  stretched  were  yet  standing. 
The  road  of  the  day  had  kept  the  valley,  which  is  sometimes 
rich  and  well  timbered,  though  the  country  generally  is  sandy. 
Mingled  with  the  usual  plants,  a  thistle  (carduus  leucographus) 
had  for  the  last  day  or  two  made  its  appearance ;  and  along 
the  river  bottom,  tradescantia  (virginica)  and  milk  plant  (as- 
clepias  syriaca*)  in  considerable  quantities. 

*  This  plant  is  very  odoriferous,  and  in  Canada  charms  the  traveler, 
especially  when  passing  through  woods  in  the  evening.  The  French  there 
eat  the  tender  shoots  in  the  spring,  as  we  do  asparagus.  The  natives 
make  a  sugar  of  the  flowers,  gathering  them  in  the  morning  when  they 
are  covered  with  dew,  and  collect  the  cotton  from  their  pods  to  fill  their 
beds.  On  account  of  the  silkiness  of  this  cotton,  Parkinson  calls  the  plant 
Virginian  silk. — London's  Encyclopedia  of  Plants. 

The  Sioux  Indians  of  the  Upper  Platte  eat  the  young  pods  of  this  plant, 
ooiling  them  with  the  meat  of  the  buffalo. 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  17 

Our  march  to-day  had  been  twenty-one  miles,  and  the  as- 
tronomical observations  gave  us  a  chronometric  longitude  of 
98°  22'  12",  and  latitude  40°  26'  50".  We  were  moving 
forward  at  seven  in  the  morning,  and  in  about  five  miles 
reached  a  fork  of  the  Blue,  where  the  road  leaves  that  river, 
and  crosses  over  to  the  Platte.  No  water  was  to  be  found  on 
the  dividing  ridge,  and  the  casks  were  filled,  and  the  animals 
here  allowed  a  short  repose.  The  road  led  across  a  high  and 
level  prairie  ridge,  where  were  but  few  plants,  and  those  prin- 
cipally thistle,  (carduus  leucographus,)  and  a  kind  of  dwarf 
artemisia.  Antelope  were  seen  frequently  during  the  morning, 
which  was  very  stormy.  Squalls  of  rain,  with  thunder  and 
lightning,  were  around  us  in  every  direction ;  and  while  we 
were  enveloped  in  one  of  them,  a  flash,  which  seemed  to  scorch 
our  eyes  as  it  passed,  struck  in  the  prairie  within  a  few  hun- 
dred feet,  sending  up  a  column  of  dust. 

Crossing  on  the  way  several  Pawnee  roads  to  the  Arkansas, 
we  reached,  in  about  twenty-one  miles  from  our  halt  on  the 
Blue,  what  is  called  the  coast  of  the  Nebraska,  or  Platte  river. 
This  had  seemed  in  the  distance  a  range  of  high  and  broken 
hills  ;  but  on  a  nearer  approach  was  found  to  be  elevations  of 
forty  to  sixty  feet  into  which  the  wind  had  worked  the  sand. 
They  were  covered  with  the  usual  fine  grasses  of  the  country, 
and  bordered  the  eastern  side  of  the  ridge  on  a  breadth  of  about 
two  miles.  Change  of  soil  and  country  appeared  here  to  have 
produced  some  change  in  the  vegetation.  Cacti  were  numer- 
ous, and  all  the  plants  of  the  region  appeared  to  flourish 
among  the  warm  hills.  Among  them  the  amorpha,  in  full 
bloom,  was  remarkable  for  its  large  and  luxuriant  purple 
clusters.  From  the  foot  of  the  coast,  a  distance  of  two  miles 
across  the  level  bottom  brought  us  to  our  encampment  on  the 
shore  of  the  river,  about  twenty  miles  below  the  head  of  Grand 
Island,  which  lay  extended  before  us,  covered  with  dense  and 
heavy  woods.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas,  according  to 
our  reckoning,  we  had  traveled  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  miles ;  and  the  geological  formation  of  the  country  we 
had  passed  over  consisted  of  lime  and  sand  stone,  covered  by 
the  same  erratic  deposite  of  sand  and  gravel  which  forms  the 


18  CAPT.    FREMONT'S   NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

surface  rock  of  the  prairies  between  the  Missouri  and  Missis- 
sippi rivers.  Except  in  some  occasional  limestone  boulders,  I 
had  met  with  no  fossils.  The  elevation  of  the  Platte  valley 
above  the  sea  is  here  about  two  thousand  feet.  The  astrono- 
mical observations  of  the  night  placed  us  in  longitude  98°  45' 
49",  latitude  40°  41'  06". 

27th. — The  animals  were  somewhat  fatigued  by  their  march 
of  yesterday,  and,  after  a  short  journey  of  eighteen  miles 
along  the  river  bottom,  I  encamped  near  the  head  of  Grand 
Island,  in  longitude,  by  observation,  99°  05'  24",  latitude  40° 
39X  32".  The  soil  was  here  light  but  rich,  though  in  some 
places  rather  sandy ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  scattered 
fringe  along  the  bank,  the  timber,  consisting  principally  of 
poplar,  (populus  moniliefera,)  elm,  and  hackberry,  (celtis  cras- 
sifolia,)  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  islands. 

28th. — We  halted  to  noon  at  an  open  reach  of  the  river, 
which  occupies  rather  more  than  a  fourth  of  the  valley,  here 
only  about  four  miles  broad.  The  camp  had  been  disposed 
with  the  usual  precaution,  the  horses  grazing  at  a  little  dis- 
tance, attended  by  the  guard,  and  we  were  all  sitting  quietly 
at  our  dinner  on  the  grass,  when  suddenly  we  heard  the  start- 
ling cry,  "  Du  monde  !"  In  an  instant,  every  man's  weapon 
was  in  his  hand,  the  horses  were  driven  in,  hobbled  and 
picketed,  and  horsemen  were  galloping  at  full  speed  in  the 
direction  of  the  new-comers,  screaming  and  yelling  with  the 
wildest  excitement.  "  Get  ready,  my  lads  !"  said  the  leader 
of  the  approaching  party  to  his  men,  when  our  wild-looking 
horsemen  were  discovered  bearing  down  upon  them — "nous 
allons  attraper  des  coups  de  baguette."  They  proved  to  be  a 
small  party  of  fourteen,  under  the  charge  of  a  man  named 
John  Lee,  and,  with  their  baggage  and  provisions  strapped  to 
their  backs,  were  making  their  way  on  foot  to  the  frontier. 
A  brief  account  of  their  fortunes  will  give  some  idea  of  navi- 
gation in  the  Nebraska.  Sixty  days  since,  they  had  left  the 
mouth  of  Laramie's  fork,  some  three  hundred  miles  above,  in 
barges  laden  with  the  *furs  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 
They  started  with  the  annual  flood,  and,  drawing  but  nine 
inches  water,  hoped  to  make  a  speedy  and  prosperous  voyage 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  19 

to  St.  Louis ;  but,  after  a  lapse  of  forty  days,  found  them- 
selves only  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  their  point  of 
departure.  They  came  down  rapidly  as  far  as  Scott's  bluffs, 
where  their  difficulties  began.  Sometimes  they  came  upon 
places  where  the  water  was  spread  over  a  great  extent,  and 
here  they  toiled  from  morning  until  night,  endeavoring  to  drag 
their  boat  through  the  sands,  making  only  two  or  three  miles 
in  as  many  days.  Sometimes  they  would  enter  an  arm  of  the 
liver,  where  there  appeared  a  fine  channel,  and,  after  descend- 
ing prosperously  for  eight  or  ten  miles,  would  come  suddenly 
upon  dry  sands,  and  be  compelled  to  return,  dragging  their 
boat  for  days  against  the  rapid  current ;  and  at  others,  they 
came  upon  places  where  the  water  lay  in  holes,  and,  getting 
out  to  float  off  their  boat,  would  fall  into  water  up  to  their 
necks,  and  the  next  moment  tumble  over  against  a  sandbar. 
Discouraged  at  length,  and  finding  the  Platte  growing  every 
day  more  shallow,  they  discharged  the  principal  part  of  their 
cargoes  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  below  Fort  Laramie, 
which  they  secured  as  well  as  possible,  and,  leaving  a  few 
men  to  guard  them,  attempted  to  continue  their  voyage,  laden 
with  some  light  furs  and  their  personal  baggage.  After  fifteen 
or  twenty  days  more  struggling  in  the  sands,  during  which 
they  made  but  one  hundred  and  forty  miles,  they  sunk  their 
barges,  made  a  cache  of  their  remaining  furs  and  property  in 
trees  on  the  bank,  and,  packing  on  his  back  what  each  man 
could  carry,  had  commenced,  the  day  before  we  encountered 
them,  their  journey  on  foot  to  St.  Louis.  We  laughed  then  at 
their  forlorn  and  vagabond  appearance,  and,  in  our  turn,  a 
month  or  two  afterwards,  furnished  the  same  occasion  for 
merriment  to  others.  Even  their  stock  of  tobacco,  that  sine 
qua  non  of  a  voyageur,  without  which  the  night  fire  is  gloomy, 
was  entirely  exhausted.  However,  we  shortened  their  home- 
ward journey  by  a  small  supply  from  our  own  provision. 
They  gave  us  the  welcome  intelligence  that  the  buffalo  were 
abundant,  some  two  days'  march  in  advance,  and  made  us  a 
present  of  some  choice  pieces,  which  were  a  very  acceptable 
change  from  our  salt  pork.  In  the  interchange  of  news,  and 
the  renewal  of  old  acquaintanceships,  we  found  wherewithal 


20  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

to  fill  a  busy  hour ;  then  we  mounted  our  horses  and  they 
shouldered  their  packs,  and  we  shook  hands  and  parted. 
Among  them,  I  had  found  an  old  companion  on  the  northern 
prairie,  a  hardened  and  hardly  served  veteran  of  the  mountains, 
who  had  been  as  much  hacked  and  scarred  as  an  old  mous- 
tache of  Napoleon's  "  old  guard."  He  flourished  in  the  sobri- 
quet of  La  Tulipe,  and  his  real  name  I  never  knew.  Finding 
that  he  was  going  to  the  States  only  because  his  company  was 
bound  in  that  direction,  and  that  he  was  rather  more  willing  to 
return  with  me,  I  took  him  again  into  my  service.  We  trav- 
eled this  day  but  seventeen  miles. 

At  our  evening  camp,  about  sunset,  three  figures  were  dis- 
covered approaching,  which  our  glasses  made  out  to  be  Indians. 
They  proved  to  be  Cheyennes — two  men,  and  a  boy  of  thir- 
teen. About  a  month  since,  they  had  left  their  people  on  the 
south  fork  of  the  river,  some  three  hundred  miles  to  the  west- 
ward, and  a  party  of  only  four  in  number  had  been  to  the 
Pawnee  villages  on  a  horse-stealing  excursion,  from  which 
they  were  returning  unsuccessful.  They  were  miserably 
mounted  on  wild  horses  from  the  Arkansas  plains,  and  had  no 
other  weapons  than  bows  and  long  spears  j  and  had  they  been 
discovered  by  the  Pawnees,  could  not,  by  any  possibility,  have 
escaped.  They  were  mortified  by  their  ill-success,  and  said 
the  Pawnees  were  cowards,  who  shut  up  their  horses  in  their 
lodges  at  night.  I  invited  them  to  supper  with  me,  and  Ran- 
dolph and  the  young  Cheyenne,  who  had  been  eyeing  each 
other  suspiciously  and  curiously,  soon  became  intimate  friends. 
After  supper  we  sat  down  on  the  grass,  and  I  placed  a  sheet 
of  paper  between  us,  on  which  they  traced,  rudely,  but  with  a 
certain  degree  of  relative  truth,  the  water-courses  of  the  coun- 
try which  lay  between  us  and  their  villages,  and  of  which  I 
desired  to  have  some  information.  Their  companions,  they 
told  us,  had  taken  a  nearer  route  over  the  hills  ;  but  they  had 
mounted  one  of  the  summits  to  spy  out  the  country,  whence 
they  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  our  party,  and,  confident  of  good 
treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  whites,  hastened  to  join  company. 
Latitude  of  the  camp  40°  SW  51". 

We  made  the  next  morning  sixteen  miles.     I  remarked  that 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  21 

the  ground  was  covered  in  many  places  with  an  efflorescence 
of  salt,  and  the  plants  were  not  numerous.  In  the  bottoms 
were  frequently  seen  tradescantia,  and  on  the  dry  lenches 
were  carduus,  cactus,  and  amorpha.  A  high  wind  during  the 
morning  had  increased  to  a  violent  gale  from  the  northwest, 
which  made  our  afternoon  ride  cold  and  unpleasant.  We  had 
the  welcome  sight  of  two  buffaloes  on  one  of  the  large  islands, 
and  encamped  at  a  clump  of  timber  about  seven  miles  from 
our  noon  halt,  after  a  day's  march  of  twenty-two  miles. 

The  air  was  keen  the  next  morning  at  sunrise,  the  ther- 
mometer standing  at  44°,  and  it  was  sufficiently  cold  to  make 
overcoats  very  comfortable.  A  few  miles  brought  us  into  the 
midst  of  the  buffalo,  swarming  in  immense  numbers  over  the 
plains,  where  they  had  left  scarcely  a  blade  of  grass  standing. 
Mr.  Preuss,  who  was  sketching  at  a  little  distance  in  the  rear, 
had  at  first  noted  them  as  large  groves  of  timber.  In  the  sight 
of  such  a  mass  of  life,  the  traveler  feels  a  strange  emotion  of 
giandeur.  We  had  heard  from  a  distance  a  dull  and  confused 
murmuring,  and,  when  we  came  in  view  of  their  dark  masses, 
there  was  not  one  among  us  who  did  not  feel  his  heart  beat 
quicker.  It  was  the  early  part  of  the  day,  when  the  herds 
are  feeding ;  and  everywhere  they  were  in  motion.  Here  and 
there  a  huge  old  bull  was  rolling  in  the  grass,  and  clouds  of 
dust  rose  in  the  air  from  various  parts  of  the  bands,  each  the 
scene  of  some  obstinate  fight.  Indians  and  buffalo  make  the 
poetry  and  life  of  the  prairie,  and  our  camp  was  full  of  their 
exhilaration.  In  place  of  the  quiet  monotony  of  the  march, 
relieved  only  by  the  cracking  of  the  whip,  and  an  "  avance 
done !  enfant  de  garce !"  shouts  and  songs  resounded  from 
every  part  of  the  line,  and  our  evening  camp  was  always  the 
commencement  of  a  feast,  which  terminated  only  with  our  de- 
parture on  the  following  morning.  At  any  time  of  the  night 
might  be  seen  pieces  of  the  most  delicate  and  choicest  meat, 
roasting  en  appolas,  on  sticks  around  the  fire,  and  the  guard 
were  never  without  company.  With  pleasant  weather  and  no 
enemy  to  fear,  an  abundance  of  the  most  excellent  meat,  and 
no  scarcity  of  bread  or  tobacco,  they  were  enjoying  the  oasis 
of  a  voyageur's  life.  Three  cows  were  killed  to-day.  Kit 


22 

Carson  had  shot  one,  and  was  continuing  the  chase  in  the  midst 
of  another  herd,  when  his  horse  fell  headlong,  but  sprang  up 
and  joined  the  flying  band.  Though  considerably  hurt,  he 
had  the  good  fortune  to  break  no  bones ;  and  Maxwell,  who 
was  mounted  on  a  fleet  hunter,  captured  the  runaway  after  a 
hard  chase.  He  was  on  the  point  of  shooting  him,  to  avoid  the 
loss  of  his  bridle,  (a  handsomely  mounted  Spanish  one,)  when 
he  found  that  his  horse  was  able  to  come  up  with  him.  An'- 
mals  are  frequently  lost  in  this  way ;  and  it  is  necessary  to 
keep  close  watch  over  them,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  buffalo,  in 
the  midst  of  which  they  scour  off  to  the  plains,  and  are  rarely 
retaken.  One  of  our  mules  took  a  sudden  freak  into  his  head, 
and  joined  a  neighboring  band  to-day.  As  we  were  not  in  a 
condition  to  lose  horses,  I  sent  several  men  in  pursuit,  and  re- 
mained in  camp,  in  the  hope  of  recovering  him ;  but  lost  the 
afternoon  to  no  purpose,  as  we  did  not  see  him  again.  Astro- 
nomical observations  placed  us  in  longitude  100°  05'  47", 
latitude  40°  4^  55' 


JULY. 

1st.— Along  our  road  to-day  the  prairie  bottom  was  more 
elevated  and  dry,  and  the  river  hills  which  border  the  right 
side  of  the  river  higher,  and  more  broken  and  picturesque  in 
the  outline.  The  country,  too,  was  better  timbered.  As  we 
were  riding  quietly  along  the  bank,  a  grand  herd  of  buffalo, 
some  seven  or  eight  hundred  in  number,  came  crowding  up 
from  the  river,  where  they  had  been  to  drink,  and  commenced 
crossing  the  plain  slowly,  eating  as  they  went.  The  wind 
was  favorable  ;  the  coolness  of  the  morning  invited  to  exercise ; 
the  ground  was  apparently  good,  and  the  distance  across  the 
prairie  (two  or  three  miles)  gave  us  a  fine  opportunity  to 
charge  them  before  they  could  get  among  the  river  hills.  It 
was  too  fine  a  prospect  for  a  chase  to  be  lost ;  and,  halting  for 
a  few  moments,  the  hunters  were  brought  up  and  saddled,  and 
Kit  Carson,  Maxwell,  and  I,  started  together.  They  were 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  23 

now  somewhat  less  than  half  a  mile  distant,  and  we  rode  easily 
along  until  within  about  three  hundred  yards,  when  a  sudden 
agitation,  a  wavering  in  the  band,  and  a  galloping  to  and  fro 
of  some  which  were  scattered  along  the  skirts,  gave  us  the  in- 
timation that  we  were  discovered.  We  started  together  at  a 
hand  gallop,  riding  steadily  abreast  of  each  other ;  and  here 
the  interest  of  the  chase  became  so  engrossingly  intense,  that 
we  were  sensible  to  nothing  else.  We  were  now  closing  upon 
them  rapidly,  and  the  front  of  the  mass  was  already  in  rapid 
motion  for  the  hills,  and  in  a  few  seconds  the  movement  had 
communicated  itself  to  the  whole  herd. 

A  crowd  of  bulls,  as  usual,  brought  up  the  rear,  and  every 
now  and  then  some  of  them  faced  about,  and  then  dashed  on 
after  the  band  a  short  distance,  and  turned  and  looked  again, 
as  if  more  than  half  inclined  to  fight.  In  a  few  moments, 
however,  during  which  we  had  been  quickening  our  pace,  the 
rout  was  universal,  and  we  were  going  over  the  ground  like  a 
hurricane.  When  at  about  thirty  yards,  we  gave  the  usual 
shout,  (the  hunter's  pas  de  charge,)  and  broke  into  the  herd. 
We  entered  on  the  side,  the  mass  giving  way  in  every  direc- 
tion in  their  heedless  course.  Many  of  the  bulls,  less  active 
and  fleet  than  the  cows,  paying  no  attention  to  the  ground,  and 
occupied  solely  with  the  hunter,  were  precipitated  to  the  earth 
with  great  force,  rolling  over  and  over  with  the  violence  of  the 
shock,  and  hardly  distinguishable  in  the  dust.  We  separated 
on  entering,  each  singling  out  his  game. 

My  horse  was  a  trained  hunter,  famous  in  the  West  under 
the  name  of  Proveau ;  and,  with  his  eyes  flashing  and  the 
foam  flying  from  his  mouth,  sprang  on  after  the  cow  like  a 
tiger.  In  a  few  moments  he  brought  me  alongside  of  her,  and 
rising  in  the  stirrups,  I  fired  at  the  distance  of  a  yard,  the  ball 
entering  at  the  termination  of  the  long  hair,  and  passing  near 
the  heart.  She  fell  headlong  at  the  report  of  the  gun ;  and, 
checking  my  horse,  I  looked  around  for  my  companions.  At 
a  little  distance,  Kit  was  on  the  ground,  engaged  in  tying  his 
horse  to  the  horns  of  a  cow  he  was  preparing  to  cut  up.  Among 
the  scattered  bands,  at  some  distance  below,  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  Maxwell ;  and  while  I  was  looking,  a  light  wreath  of  smoke 


. 
24  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

curled  away  from  his  gun,  from  which  I  was  too  far  to  hear 
the  report  Nearer,  and  between  me  and  the  hills,  towards 
which  they  were  directing  their  course,  was  the  body  of  the 
herd ;  and,  giving  my  horse  the  rein,  we  dashed  after  them. 
A  thick  cloud  of  dust  hung  upon  their  rear,  which  filled  my 
mouth  and  eyes,  and  nearly  smothered  me.  In  the  midst  of 
this  I  could  see  nothing,  aod  the  buffalo  were  not  distinguish- 
able until  within  thirty  feet.  They  crowded  together  more 
densely  still  as  I  came  upon  them,  and  rushed  along  in  such  a 
compact  body,  that  I  could  not  obtain  an  entrance — the  horse 
almost  leaping  upon  them.  In  a  few  moments  the  mass  divided 
to  the  right  and  left,  the  horns  clattering  with  a  noise  heard 
above  every  thing  else,  and  my  horse  darted  into  the  opening. 
Five  or  six  bulls  charged  on  us  as  we  dashed  along  the  line, 
but  were  left  far  behind  ;  and,  singling  out  a  cow,  I  gave  her 
my  fire,  but  struck  too  high.  She  gave  a  tremendous  leap, 
and  scoured  on  swifter  than  before.  I  reined  up  my  horse, 
and  the  band  swept  on  like  a  torrent,  and  left  the  place  quiet 
and  clear.  Our  chase  had  led  us  into  dangerous  ground.  A 
prairie-dog  village,  so  thickly  settled  that  there  were  three  or 
four  holes  in  every  twenty  yards  square,  occupied  the  whole 
bottom  for  nearly  two  miles  in  length.  Looking  around,  I  saw 
only  one  of  the  hunters,  nearly  out  of  sight,  and  the  long,  dark 
line  of  our  caravan  crawling  along,  three  or  four  miles  distant. 
After  a  march  of  twenty- four  miles,  we  encamped  at  nightfall, 
one  mile  and  a  half  above  the  lower  end  of  Brady's  Island. 
The  breadth  of  this  arm  of  the  river  was  eight  hundred  and 
eighty  yards,  and  the  water  nowhere  two  feet  in  depth.  The 
island  bears  the  name  of  a  man  killed  on  this  spot  some  years 
ago.  His  party  had  encamped  here,  three  in  company,  and 
one  of  the  number  went  off  to  hunt,  leaving  Brady  and  his 
companion  together.  These  two  had  frequently  quarreled, 
and  on  the  hunter's  return  he  found  Brady  dead,  and  was  told 
that  he  had  shot  himself  accidentally.  He  was  buried  here  on 
the  bank ;  but,  as  usual,  the  wolves  tore  him  out,  and  some 
human  bones  that  were  lying  on  the  ground  we  supposed  were 
his.  Troops  of  wolves  that  were  hanging  on  the  skirts  of  the 
buffalo,  kept  up  an  uninterrupted  howling  during  the  night, 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  25 

venturing  almost  into  camp.  In  the  morning,  they  were  sitting 
at  a  short  distance,  barking,  and  impatiently  waiting  our  de- 
parture, to  fall  upon  the  bones. 

2d. — The  morning  was  cool  and  smoky.  Our  road  led 
closer  to  the  hills,  which  here  increased  in  elevation,  present- 
ing an  outline  of  conical  peaks  three  hundred  to  five  hundred 
feet  high.  Some  timber,  apparently  pine,  grows  in  the  ravines, 
and  streaks  of  clay  or  sand  whiten  their  slopes.  We  crossed, 
during  the  morning,  a  number  of  hollows,  timbered  principally 
with  box,  elder,  (acer  negundo,)  poplar,  and  elm.  Brady's 
Island  is  well  wooded,  and  all  the  river  along  which  our  road 
led  to-day,  may,  in  general,  be  called  tolerably  well  timbered. 
We  passed  near  the  encampment  of  the  Oregon  emigrants, 
where  they  appeared  to  have  reposed  several  days.  A  variety 
of  household  articles  were  scattered  about,  and  they  had  prob- 
ably disburdened  themselves  here  of  many  things  not  absolute- 
ly necessary.  I  had  left  the  usual  road  before  the  mid-day 
halt,  and  in  the  afternoon,  having  sent  several  men  in  advance 
to  reconnoitre,  marched  directly  for  the  mouth  of  the  South 
fork.  On  our  arrival,  the  horsemen  were  sent  in  and  scattered 
about  the  river  to  search  for  the  best  fording-places,  and  the 
carts  followed  immediately.  The  stream  is  here  divided  by  an 
island  into  two  channels.  The  southern  is  four  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  wide,  having  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  water  in  the 
deepest  places.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  dry  bars,  the  bed 
of  the  river  is  generally  quicksands,  in  which  the  carts  began 
to  sink  rapidly  so  soon  as  the  mules  halted,  so  that  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  keep  them  constantly  in  motion. 

The  northern  channel,  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  wide,  was  somewhat  deeper,  having  frequently  three  feet 
water  in  the  numerous  small  channels,  with  a  bed  of  coarse 
gravel.  The  whole  breadth  of  the  Nebraska,  immediately  be- 
low the  junction,  is  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
All  our  equipage  had  reached  the  left  bank  safely  at  six  o'clock, 
having  to-day  made  twenty  miles.  We  encamped  at  tfte  point 
of  land  immediately  at  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South 
forks.  Between  the  streams  is  a  low  rich  prairie,  extending 
from  their  confluence  eighteen  miles  westwardly  to  the  bor- 
2 


20  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

dering  hills,  where  it  is  five  and  a  half  miles  wide.  It  is  cov- 
ered with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass,  and  along  the  banks  is 
a  slight  and  scattered  fringe  of  cotton  wood  and  willow.  In  the 
buffalo-trails  and  wallows,  I  remarked  saline  efflorescences,  to 
which  a  rapid  evaporation  in  the  great  heat  of  the  sun  probably 
contributes,  as  the  soil  is  entirely  unprotected  by  timber.  In 
the  vicinity  of  these  places  there  was  a  bluish  grass,  which  the 
cattle  refuse  to  eat,  called  by  the  voyageurs  "  herbe  salee," 
(salt  grass.)  The  latitude  of  the  junction  is  41°  04'  47",  and 
longitude,  by  chronometer  and  lunar  distances,  100°  49'  43X/. 
The  elevation  above  the  sea  is  about  two  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred feet.  The  hunters  came  in  with  a  fat  cow ;  and,  as  we 
had  labored  hard,  we  enjoyed  well  a  supper  of  roasted  ribs 
and  boudins,  the  chef-d'oeuvre  of  a  prairie  cook.  Mosquitoes 
thronged  about  us  this  evening ;  but,  by  ten  o'clock,  when  the 
thermometer  had  fallen  to  47°,  they  had  all  disappeared. 

3d. — As  this  was  to  be  a  point  in  our  homeward  journey,  I 
made  a  cache  (a  term  used  in  all  this  country  for  what  is  hid- 
den in  the  ground)  of  a  barrel  of  pork.  It  was  impossible  to 
conceal  such  a  proceeding  from  the  sharp  eyes  of  our  Chey- 
enne companions,  and  I  therefore  told  them  to  go  and  see  what 
it  was  they  were  burying.  They  would  otherwise  have  not 
failed  to  return  and  destroy  our  cache  in  expectation  of  some 
rich  booty  ;  but  pork  they  dislike  and  never  eat.  We  left  our 
camp  at  nine,  continuing  up  the  South  fork,  the  prairie-bottom 
affording  us  a  fair  road  ;  but  in  the  long  grass  we  roused  myri- 
ads of  mosquitoes  and  flies,  from  which  our  horses  suffered 
severely.  The  day  was  smoky,  with  a  pleasant  breeze  from 
the  south,  and  the  plains  on  the  opposite  side  were  covered 
with  buffalo.  Having  traveled  twenty-five  miles,  we  en- 
camped at  six  in  the  evening ;  and  the  men  were  sent  across 
the  river  for  wood,  as  there  is  none  here  on  the  left  bank. 
Our  fires  were  partially  made  of  the  bois  de  vache,  the  dry  ex- 
crement of  the  buffalo,  which,  like  that  of  the  camel  in  the 
Arabian  deserts,  furnishes  to  the  traveler  a  very  good  substi- 
tute for  wood,  burning  like  turf.  Wolves  in  great  numbers 
surrounded  us  during  the  night,  crossing  and  recrossing  from 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NAB^ATIVE.  27 

the  opposite  herds  to  our  camp,  and  howling  and  trotting  about 
in  the  river  until  morning. 

4th. — The  morning  was  very  smoky,  the  sun  shining  dimly 
and  red,  as  in  thick  fog.  The  camp  was  roused  by  a  salute 
at  daybreak,  and  from  our  scanty  store  a  portion  of  what  our 
Indian  friends  called  the  "  red  fire-water"  served  out  to  the 
men.  While  we  were  at  breakfast,  a  buffalo-calf  broke  through 
the  camp,  followed  by  a  couple  of  wolves.  In  its  fright,  it  had 
probably  mistaken  us  for  a  band  of  buffalo.  The  wolves  were 
obliged  to  make  a  circuit  round  the  camp,  so  that  the  calf  got 
a  little  the  start,  and  strained  every  nerve  to  reach  a  large 
herd  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  about  two  miles  distant ;  but  first 
one  and  then  another,  and  another  wolf  joined  in  the  chase,  un- 
til his  pursuers  amounted  to  twenty  or  thirty,  and  they  ran 
him  down  before  he  could  reach  his  friends.  There  were  a 
few  bulls  near  the  place,  and  one  of  them  attacked  the  wolves 
and  tried  to  rescue  him ;  but  was  driven  off  immediately,  and 
the  little  animal  fell  an  easy  prey,  half  devoured  before  he  was 
dead.  We  watched  the  chase  with  the  interest  always  felt  for 
the  weak ;  and  had  there  been  a  saddled  horse  at  hand,  he 
would  have  fared  better.  Leaving  camp,  our  road  soon  ap- 
proached the  hills,  in  which  strata  of  a  marl  like  that  of  the 
Chimney  rock,  hereafter  described,  made  their  appearance.  It 
is  probably  of  this  rock  that  the  hills  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Platte,  a  little  below  the  junction,  are  composed,  and  which  are 
worked  by  the  winds  and  rains  into  sharp  peaks  and  cones, 
giving  them,  in  contrast  to  the  surrounding  level  region,  some- 
thing of  a  picturesque  appearance.  We  crossed,  this  morning, 
numerous  beds  of  the  small  creeks  which,  in  the  time  of  rains 
and  melting  snow,  pour  down  from  the  ridge,  bringing  down 
with  them,  always,  great  quantities  of  sand  and  gravel,  which 
have  gradually  raised  their  beds  four  to  ten  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  prairie,  which  they  cross,  making  each  one  of  them  a 
miniature  Po.  Raised  in  this  ^ay  above  the  surrounding 
prairie,  without  any  bank,  the  long  yellow  and  winding  line  of 
their  beds  resembles  a  causeway  from  the  hills  to  the  river. 
Many  spots  on  the  prairie  are  yellow  with  sunflower,  (helmn- 
thus.) 


28  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JffLY, 

As  we  were  riding  slowly  along  this  afternoon,  clouds  of  dust 
in  the  ravines,  among  the  hills  to  the  right,  suddenly  attract- 
ed our  attention,  and  in  a  few  minutes  column  after  column  of 
buffalo  came  galloping  down,  making  directly  to  the  river. 
By  the  time  the  leading  herds  had  reached  the  water,  the 
prairie  was  darkened  with  the  dense  masses.  Immediately 
before  us,  when  the  bands  first  came  down  into  the  valley, 
stretched  an  unbroken  line,  the  head  of  which  was  lost  among 
the  river  hills  on  the  opposite  side  ;  and  still  they  poured  down 
from  the  ridge  on  our  right.  From  hill  to  hill,  the  prairie  bot- 
tom was  certainly  not  less  than  two  miles  wide  ;  and,  allowing 
the  animals  to  be  ten  feet  apart,  and  only  ten  in  a  line,  there 
were  already  eleven  thousand  in  view.  Some  idea  may  thus 
be  formed  of  their  number  when  they  had  occupied  the  whole 
plain.  In  a  short  time  they  surrounded  us  on  every  side,  ex- 
tending for  several  miles  in  the  rear,  and  forward  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach ;  leaving  around  us,  as  we  advanced,  an  open 
space  of  only  two  or  three  hundred  yards.  This  movement  of 
the  buffalo  indicated  to  us  the  presence  of  Indians  on  the  North 
fork. 

I  halted  earlier  than  usual,  about  forty  miles  from  the  junc- 
tion, and  all  hands  were  soon  busily  engaged  in  preparing  a 
feast  to  celebrate  the  day.  The  kindness  of  our  friends  at  St. 
Louis  had  provided  us  with  a  large  supply  of  excellent  pre- 
serves and  rich  fruit-cake ;  and  when  these  were  added  to  a 
macaroni  soup,  and  variously  prepared  dishes  of  the  choicest 
buffalo-meat,  crowned  with  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  enjoyed  with 
prairie  appetite,  we  felt,  as  we  sat  in  barbaric  luxury  around 
our  smoking  supper  on  the  grass,  a  greater  sensation  of  enjoy- 
ment than  the  Roman  epicure  at  his  perfumed  feast.  But 
most  of  all  it  seemed  to  please  our  Indian  friends,  who,  in  the 
unrestrained  enjoyment  of  the  moment,  demanded  to  know  if 
our  "  medicine-days  came  often."  No  restraint  was  exercised 
at  the  hospitable  board,  andf  to  the  great  delight  of  his  elders, 
our  young  Indian  lad  made  himself  extremely  drunk. 

Our  encampment  was  within  a  few  miles  of  the  place  where 
the  road  crosses  to  the  North.fork,  and  various  reasons  led  me 
to  divide  my  party  at  this  point.  The  North  fork  was  the  prin- 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  29 

cipal  object  of  my  survey ;  but  I  was  desirous  to  ascend  the 
South  branch,  with  a  view  of  obtaining  some  astronomical  po- 
sitions, and  determining  the  mouths  of  its  tributaries  as  far  as 
St.  Vrain's  fort,  estimated  to  be  some  two  hundred  miles  far- 
ther up  the  river,  and  near  to  Long's  Peak.  There  I  hoped  to 
obtain  some  mules,  which  I  found  would  be  necessary  to  re- 
lieve my  horses.  In  a  military  point  of  view,  I  was  desirous 
to  form  some  opinion  of  the  country  relative  to  the  establish- 
ment of  posts  on  a  line  connecting  the  settlements  with  the 
south  pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  way  of  the  Arkansas 
and  the  South  and  Laramie  forks  of  the  Platte.  Crossing  the 
country  northwestwardly  from  St.  Vrain's  fort,  to  the  Ameri- 
can Company's  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Laramie,  would  give 
me  some  acquaintance  with  the  affluents  which  head-in  the 
mountain  between  the  two ;  I  therefore  determined  to  set  out 
the  next  morning,  accompanied  by  four  men — Maxwell,  Ber- 
nier,  Ayot,  and  Basil  Lajeunesse.  Our  Cheyennes,  whose 
village  lay  up  this  river,  also  decided  to  accompany  us.  The 
party  I  left  in  charge  of  Clement  Lambert,  with  orders  to  cross 
to  the  North  fork ;  and  at  some  convenient  place,  near  to  the 
CouUe  des  Frenes,  make  a  cache  of  every  thing  not  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  further  progress  of  our  expedition.  From  this 
point,  using  the  most  guarded  precaution  in  his  march  through 
the  country,  he  was  to  proceed  to  the  American  Company's 
fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Laramie's  fork,  and  await  my  arrival, 
which  would  be  prior  to  the  16th,  as  on  that  and  the  following 
night  would  occur  some  occultations  which  I  was  desirous  to 
obtain  at  that  place. 

5th. — Before  breakfast  all  was  ready.  We  had  one  led 
horse  in  addition  to  those  we  rode,  and  a  pack-mule,  destined  to 
carry  our  instruments,  provisions,  and  baggage ;  the  last  two 
articles  not  being  of  great  weight.  The  instruments  consisted 
of  a  sextant,  artificial  horizon,  &c.,  a  barometer,  spy-glass,  and 
compass.  The  chronometer  I  of  course  kept  on  my  person.  I 
had  ordered  the  cook  to  put  up  for  us  some  flour,  coffee,  and 
sugar,  and  our  rifles  were  to  furnish  the  rest.  One  blanket, 
in  addition  to  his  saddle  and  saddle  blanket,  furnished  the  ma- 
terials for  each  man's  bed,  and  every  one  was  provided  with  9 


80  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARKATIVE.  [JULY, 

change  of  linen.  All  were  armed  with  rifles  or  double-bar- 
relled guns ;  and,  in  addition  to  these.  Maxwell  and  myself 
were  furnished  with  excellent  pistols.  Thus  accoutred,  we 
took  a  parting  breakfast  with  our  friends,  and  set  forth. 

Our  journey  the  first  day  afforded  nothing  of  any  interest. 
We  shot  a  buffalo  towards  sunset,  and  having  obtained  some 
meat  for  our  evening  meal,  encamped  where  a  little  timber  af- 
forded us  the  means  of  making  a  fire.  Having  disposed  our 
meat  on  roasting-sticks,  we  proceeded  to  unpack  our  bales  in 
search  of  coffee  and  sugar,  and  flour  for  bread.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  little  parched  coffee,  unground,  we  found  nothing. 
Our  cook  had  neglected  to  put  it  up,  or  it  had  been  somehow 
forgotten.  Tired  and  hungry,  with  tough  bull-meat  without 
salt,  (for  we  had  not  been  able  to  kill  a  cow,)  and  a  little  bit- 
ter coffee,  we  sat  down  in  silence  to  our  miserable  fare,  a  very 
disconsolate  party  ;  for  yesterday's  feast  was  yet  fresh  in  our 
memories,  and  this  was  our  first  brush  with  misfortune.  Each 
man  took  his  blanket,  and  laid  himself  down  silently ;  for  the 
worst  part  of  these  mishaps  is,  that  they  make  people  ill-humor- 
ed. To-day  we  had  traveled  about  thirty-six  miles. 

6th. — Finding  that  our  present  excursion  would  be  attended 
with  considerable  hardship,  and  unwilling  to  expose  more  per- 
sons than  necessary,  I  determined  to  send  Mr.  Preuss  back  to 
the  party.  His  horse,  too,  appeared  in  no  condition  to  sup- 
port the  journey ;  and  accordingly,  after  breakfast,  he  took 
the  road  across  the  hills,  attended  by  one  of  my  most  trusty 
men,  Bernier.  The  ridge  between  the  rivers  is  here  about 
fifteen  miles  broad,  and  I  expected  he  would  probably  strike 
the  fork  near  their  evening  camp.  At  all  events  he  would  not 
fail  to  find  their  trail,  and  rejoin  them  the  next  day. 

We  continued  our  journey,  seven  in  number,  including  the 
three  Cheyennes.  Our  general  course  was  southwest,  up  the 
valley  of  the  river,  which  was  sandy,  bordered  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  valley  by  a  low  ridge ;  and  on  the  south,  after 
seven  or  eight  miles,  the  river  hills  became  higher.  Six  miles 
from  our  resting-place  we  crossed  the  bed  of  a  considerable 
stream,  now  entirely  dry — a  bed  of  sand.  In  a  grove  of  wil- 
lows, near  the  mouth,  were  the  remains  of  a  considerable  fort, 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  81 

constructed  of  trunks  of  large  trees.  It  was  apparently  very 
old,  and  had  probably  been  the  scene  of  some  hostile  encoun- 
ter among  the  roving  tribes.  Its  solitude  formed  an  impres- 
sive contrast  to  the  picture  which  our  imaginations  involunta- 
rily drew  of  the  busy  scene  which  had  been  enacted  here. 
The  timber  appeared  to  have  'been  much  more  extensive  for- 
merly than  now.  There  were  but  few  trees,  a  kind  of  long- 
leaved  willow,  standing  ;  and  numerous  trunks  of  large  trees 
were  scattered  about  on  the  ground.  In  many  similar  places 
I  had  occasion  to  remark  an  apparent  progressive  decay  in  the 
timber.  Ten  miles  farther  we  reached  the  mouth  of  Codge 
Pole  creek,  a  clear  and  handsome  stream,  running  through  a 
broad  valley.  In  its  course  through  the  bottom  it  has  a  uni- 
form breadth  of  twenty-two  feet  and  six  inches  in  depth.  A 
few  willows  on  the  banks  strike  pleasantly  on  the  eye,  by 
their  greenness,  .in  the  midst  of  hot  and  barren  sands. 

The  amorpha  was  frequent  among  the  ravines,  but  the  sun- 
flower (heUanthiLs)  was  the  characteristic  ;  and  flowers  of  deep 
warm  colors  seem  most  to  love  the  sandy  soil.  The  impres- 
sion of  the  country  traveled  over  to-day  was  one  of  dry  and 
barren  sands.  We  turned  in  towards  the  river  at  noon,  and 
gave  our  horses  two  hours  for  food  and  rest.  I  had  no  other 
thermometer  than  the  one  attached  to  the  barometer,  which 
stood  at  89°,  the  height  of  the  column  in  the  barometer  being 
26-235  at  meridian.  The  sky  was  clear,  with  a  high  wind 
from  the  south.  At  2  we  continued  our  journey ;  the  wind 
had  moderated,  and  it  became  almost  unendurably  hot,  and 
our  animals  suffered  severely.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon, 
the  wind  rose  suddenly,  and  blew  hard  from  the  southwest, 
with  thunder  and  lightning,  and  squalls  of  rain ;  these  were 
blown  against  us  with  violence  by  the  wind  ;  and,  halting,  we 
turned  our  backs  to  the  storm  until  it  blew  over.  Antelope 
were  tolerably  frequent,  with  a  large  gray  hare ;  but  the 
former  were  shy,  and  the  latter  hardly  worth  the  delay  of 
stopping  to  shoot  them ;  so,  as  the  evening  drew  near,  we 
again  had  recourse  to  an  old  bull,  and  encamped  at  sunset  on 
an  island  in  the  Platte. 

We  ate  our  meat  with  a  good  relish  this  evening,  for  we 


32  SAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Jin,*, 

were  all  in  fine  health,  and  had  ridden  nearly  all  of  a  long 
summer's  day,  with  a  burning  sun  reflected  from  the  sands. 
My  companions  slept  rolled  up  in  their  blankets,  and  the  In- 
dians lay  in  the  grass  near  the  fire  ;  but  my  sleeping- pla.ce 
generally  had  an  air  of  more  pretension.  Our  riftes  were  tied 
together  near  the  muzzle,  the  butts  resting  on  the  ground,  and 
a  knife  laid  on  the  rope,  to  cut  away  in  case  of  an  alarm. 
Over  this,  which  made  a  kind  of  frame,  was  thrown  a  large 
India-rubber  cloth,  which  we  used  to  eover  our  packs.  This, 
made  a  tent  sufficiently  large  to  receive  about  half  of  my  bed, 
and  was  a  place  of  shelter  for  my  instruments ;  and  as  I  was 
careful  always  to  put  this  part  against  the  wind,  I  could  lie 
here  with  a  sensation  of  satisfied  enjoyment,  and  hear  the  wind 
blow,  and  the  rain  patter  close  to  my  head,  and  know  that  I 
should  be  at  least  half  dry.  Certainly  I  never  slept  more 
soundly.  The  barometer  at  sunset  was  26-01Q,  thermometer 
at  81°,  and  cloudy ;  but  a  gale  from  the  west  sprang  up  with 
the  setting  sun,  and  in  a  few  minutes  swept  away  every  cloud 
from  the  sky.  The  evening  was  very  fine,  and  I  remained  up 
to  take  astronomical  observations,  which  made  our  position  in 
latitude  40°  51'  17",  and  longitude  103°  07'  00". 

7th. — At  our  camp  this  morning,  at  six  o'clock,  the  barom- 
eter was  at  26-183,  thermometer  69°,  and  clear,  with  a  light 
wind  from  the  southwest.  The  past  night  had  been  squally, 
with  high  winds,  and  occasionally  a  few  drops  of  rain.  Our 
cooking  did  not  occupy  much  time,  and  we  left  camp  early. 
Nothing  of  interest  occurred  during  the  morning.  The  same 
dreary  barrenness,  except  that  a  hard  marly  clay  had  re- 
placed the  sandy  soil.  Buffalo  absolutely  covered  the  plain,  on 
both  sides  of  the  river,  and  whenever  we  ascended  the  hills, 
scattered  herds  gave  life  to  the  view  in  every  direction.  A  small 
drove  of  wild  horses  made  their  appearance  on  the  low  river 
bottoms,  a  mile  or  two  to  the  left,  and  I  sent  off  one  of  the  In- 
dians (who  seemed  very  eager  to  catch  one)  on  my  led  horse, 
a  spirited  and  fleet  animal.  The  savage  manoeuvred  a  little  to 
get  the  wind  of  the  horses,  in  which  he  succeeded — approach- 
ing within  a  hundred  yards  without  being  discovered.  The 
chase  for  a  few  minutes  was  interesting.  My  hunter  easily 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  33 

overtook  and  passed  the  hindmost  of  the  wild  drove,  which  the 
Indian  did  not  attemp  to  lasso  ;  all  his  efforts  being  directed  to 
capture  the  leader.  But  the  strength  of  the  horse,  weakened 
by  the  insufficient  nourishment  of  grass,  failed  in  a  race,  and 
all  the  drove  escaped.  We  halted  at  noon  on  the  bank  of 
the  river,  the  barometer  at  that  time  being  26-192,  and  the 
thermometer  103°,  with  a  light  air  from  the  south  and  clear 
weather. 

In  the  course  of  tne  afternoon,  dust  rising  among  the  hills, 
at  a  particular  place,  attracted  our  attention ;  and,  riding  up, 
we  found  a  band  of  eighteen  or  twenty  buffalo  bulls  engaged 
in  a  desperate  fight.  Though  butting  and  goring  were  be- 
stowed liberally,  and  without  distinction,  yet  their  efforts  were 
evidently  directed  against  one — a  huge,  gaunt  old  bull,  very 
lean,  while  his  adversaries  were  all  fat  and  in  good  order.  He 
appeared  very  weak,  and  had  already  received  some  wounds ; 
and,  while  we  were  looking  on,  was  several  times  knocked 
down  and  badly  hurt,  and  a  very  few  moments  would  have  put 
an  end  to  him.  Of  course,  we  took  the  side  of  the  weaker 
party,  and  attacked  the  herd ;  but  they  were  so  blind  witl 
rage,  that  they  fought  on,  utterly  regardless  of  our  presence 
although  on  foot  and  on  horseback  we  were  firing,  in  open 
view,  within  twenty  yards  of  them.  But  this  did  not  last  long. 
In  a  very  few  seconds,  we  created  a  commotion  among  them. 
One  or  two,  which  were  knocked  over  by  the  balls,  jumped  up 
and  ran  off  into  the  hills ;  and  they  began  to  retreat  slowly 
along  a  broad  ravine  to  the  river,  fighting  furiously  as  they 
went.  By  the  time  they  had  reached  the  bottom,  we  had 
pretty  well  dispersed  them,  and  the  old  bull  hobbled  off  to  lie 
down  somewhere.  One  of  his  enemies  remained  on  the  ground 
where  we  had  first  fired  upon  them,  and  we  stopped  there  for 
a  short  time  to  cut  from  him  some  meat  for  our  supper.  We 
had  neglected  to  secure  our  horses,  thinking  it  an  unnecessary 
precaution  in  their  fatigued  condition  ;  but  our  mule  took  it 
into  his  head  to  start,  and  away  he  went,  followed  at  full 
speed  by  the  pack-horse,  with  all  the  baggage  and  instruments 
on  his  back.  They  were  recovered  and  brought  back,  after 
a  chase  of  a  mile.  Fortunately,  every  thing  was  well  secured, 
2* 


34  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

so  that  nothing,  not  even  the  barometer,  was  in  the  least  in- 
jured. 

The  sun  was  getting  low,  and  some  narrow  lines  of  timber, 
four  or  five  miles  distant,  promised  us  a  pleasant  camp,  where, 
with  plenty  of  wood  for  fire,  and  comfortable  shelter,  and  rich 
grass  for  our  animals,  we  should  find  clear  cool  springs,  instead 
of  the  warm  water  of  the  Platte.  On  our  arrival,  we  found 
the  bed  of  a  stream  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  wide,  sunk  some 
thirty  feet  below  the  level  of  the  prairie,  with  perpendicular 
banks,  bordered  by  a  fringe  of  green  cottonwood,  but  not  a 
drop  of  water.  There  were  several  small  forks  to  the  stream, 
all  in  the  same  condition.  With  the  exception  of  the  Platte 
bottom,  the  country  seemed  to  be  of  a  clay  formation,  dry,  and 
perfectly  devoid  of  any  moisture,  and  baked  hard  by  the  sun. 
Turning  off  towards  the  river,  we  reached  the  bank  in  about  a 
mile,  and  were  delighted  to  find  an  old  tree,  with  thick  foliage 
and  spreading  branches,  where  we  encamped.  At  sunset,  the 
barometer  was  at  25-950,  thermometer  81°,  with  a  strong 
wind  from  S.  20°  E.,  and  the  sky  partially  covered  with  heavy 
masses  of  cloud,  which  settled  a  little  towards  the  horizon  by 
ten  o'clock,  leaving  it  sufficiently  clear  for  astronomical  obser- 
vations, which  placed  us  in  latitude  40°  33/  26",  and  longitude 
103°  30'  37". 

8th. — The  morning  was  very  pleasant.  The  breeze  was 
fresh  from  S.  50°  E.,  with  few  clouds;  the  barometer  at  six 
o'clock  standing  at  25*970,  and  the  thermometer  at  70°.  Since 
leaving  the  forks  our  route  had  passed  over  a  country  alter, 
nately  clay  and  sand,  each  presenting  the  same  naked  waste. 
On  leaving  camp  this  morning,  we  struck  again  a  sandy 
region,  in  which  the  vegetation  appeared  somewhat  more  vig- 
orous than  that  which  we  had  observed  for  the  last  few  days ;  • 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  were  some  tolerably  large 
groves  of  timber. 

Journeying  along,  we  came  suddenly  upon  a  place  where 
the  ground  was  covered  with  horses'  tracks,  which  had  been 
made  since  the  rain,  and  indicated  the  immediate  presence  of 
Indians  in  our  neighborhood.  The  buffalo,  too,  which  the  day 
before  had  been  so  numerous,  were  nowhere  in  sight — another 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  55 

sure  indication  that  there  were  people  near.  Riding  on,  we 
discovered  the  carcass  of  a  buffalo  recently  killed — perhaps 
the  day  before.  We  scanned  the  horizon  carefully  with  the 
glass,  but  no  living  object  was  to  be  seen.  For  the  next  mile 
or  two,  the  ground  was  dotted  with  buffalo  carcasses,  which 
showed  that  the  Indians  had  made  a  surround  here,  and  were 
in  considerable  force.  We  went  on  quickly  and  cautiously, 
keeping  the  river  bottom,  and  carefully  avoiding  the  hills ;  but 
we  met  with  no  interruption,  and  began  to  grow  careless  again. 
We  had  already  lost  one  of  our  horses,  and  here  Basil's  mule 
showed  symptoms  of  giving  out,  and  finally  refused  to  advance, 
being  what  the  Canadians  call  reste.  He  therefore  dismounted, 
and  drove  her  along  before  him ;  but  this  was  a  very  slow  way 
of  traveling.  We  had  inadvertently  got  about  half  a  mile  in 
advance,  but  our  Cheyennes,  who  were  generally  a  mile  or 
two  in  the  rear,  remained  with  him.  There  were  some  dark- 
looking  objects  among  the  hills,  about  two  miles  to  the  left, 
here  low  and  undulating,  which  we  had  seen  for  a  little  time, 
and  supposed  to  be  buffalo  coming  in  to  water ;  but,  happening 
t>o  look  behind,  Maxwell  saw  the  Cheyennes  whipping  up 
furiously,  and  another  glance  at  the  clark  objects  showed  them 
at  once  to  be  Indians  coming  up  at  speed. 

Had  we  been  well  mounted  and  disencumbered  of  instru- 
ments, we  might  have  set  them  at  defiance ;  but  as  it  was,  we 
were  fairly  caught.  It  was  too  late  to  rejoin  our  friends,  and 
we  endeavored  to  gain  a  clump  of  timber  about  half  a  mile 
ahead ;  but  the  instruments  and  tired  state  of  our  horses  did 
not  allow  us  to  go  faster  than  a  steady  canter,  and  they  were 
gaining  on  us  fast.  At  first,  they  did  not  appear  to  be  more 
than  fifteen  or  twenty  in  number,  but  group  after  group  darted 
into  view  at  the  top  of  the  hills,  until  all  the  little  eminences 
seemed  in  motion  ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes  from  the  time  they 
were  first  discovered,  two  or  three  hundred,  naked  to  the  breech- 
cloth,  were  sweeping  across  the  prairie.  In  a  few  hundred 
yards  we  discovered  that  the  timber  we  were  endeavoring  to 
make  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river ;  and  before  we 
could  .reach  the  bank,  down  came  the  Indians  upon  us. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  in  a  few  seconds  more  the  lead- 


36  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JtrLY, 

ing  man,  and  perhaps  some  of  his  companions,  would  have 
rolled  in  the  dust ;  for  we  had  jerked  the  covers  from  our 
guns,  and  our  fingers  were  on  the  triggers.  Men  in  such 
cases  generally  act  from  instinct,  and  a  charge  from  three 
hundred  naked  savages  is  a  circumstance  not  well  calculated 
to  promote  a  cool  exercise  of  judgment.  Just  as  he  was  about 
to  fire,  Maxwell  recognised  the  leading  Indian,  and  shouted  to 
him  in  the  Indian  language,  "  You're  a  fool,  G —  damn  you — 
don't  you  know  me  ?"  The  sound  of  his  own  language  seemed 
to  shock  the  savage  ;  and,  swerving  his  horse  a  little,  he  passed 
us  like  an  arrow.  He  wheeled,  as  I  rode  out  towards  him,  and 
gave  me  his  hand,  striking  his  breast  and  exclaiming  "  Ara- 
paho !"  They  proved  to  be  a  village  of  that  nation,  among 
whom  Maxwell  had  resided  as  a  trader  a  year  or  two  pre- 
viously, and  recognised  him  accordingly.  We  were  soon  in 
the  midst  of  the  band,  answering  as  well  as  we  could  a  multi- 
tude of  questions  ;  of  which  the  very  first  was,  of  what  tribe 
were  our  Indian  companions  who  were  coming  in  the  rear  ? 
They  seemed  disappointed  to  know  that  they  were  Cheyennes, 
for  they  had  fally  anticipated  a  grand  dance  around  a  Pawnee 
scalp  that  night. 

The  chief  showed  us  his  village  at  a  grove  on  the  river  six 
miles  ahead,  and  pointed  out  a  band  of  buffalo  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Platte,  immediately  opposite  us,  which  he  said  they 
were  going  to  surround.  They  had  seen  the  band  early  in 
the  morning  from  their  village,  and  had  been  making  a  large 
circuit,  to  avoid  giving  them  the  wind,  when  they  discovered 
us.  In  a  few  minutes  the  women  came  galloping  up,  astride 
on  their  horses,  and  naked  from  their  knees  down  and  the  hips 
up.  They  followed  the  men,  to  assist  in  cutting  up  and  carry- 
ing oft'  the  meat. 

The  wind  was  blowing  directly  across  the  river,  and  the 
chief  requested  us  to  halt  where  we  were  for  awhile,  in  order 
to  avoid  raising  the  herd.  We  therefore  unsaddled  our  horses, 
and  sat  down  on  the  bank  to  view  the  scene ;  and  our  new  ac- 
quaintances rode  a  few  hundred  yards  lower  down,  and  began 
crossing  the  river.  Scores  of  wild-looking  dogs  followed, 
looking  like  troops  of  wolves,  and  having,  in  fact,  but  very 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  37 

little  of  the  dog  in  their  composition.  Some  of  them  remained 
with  us,  and  I  checked  one  of  the  men,  whom  I  found  aiming 
at  one,  which  he  was  about  to  kill  for  a  wolf.  The  day  had 
become  very  hot.  The  air  was  clear,  with  a  very  slight 
breeze ;  and  now,  at  12  o'clock,  while  the  barometer  stood  at 
25-920,  the  attached  thermometer  was  at  108°.  Our  Chey- 
ennes  had  learned  that  with  the  Arapaho  village  were  about 
twenty  lodges  of  their  own,  including  their  own  families  j 
they  therefore  immediately  commenced  making  their  .oilette. 
After  bathing  in  the  river,  they  invested  themselves  in  some 
handsome  calico  shirts,  which  I  afterwards  learned  they  had 
stolen  from  my  own  men,  and  spent  some  time  in  arranging 
their  hair  and  painting  themselves  with  some  vermilion  I  had 
given  them.  While  they  were  engaged  in  this  satisfactory 
manner,  one  of  their  half- wild  horses,  to  which  the  crowd  of 
prancing  animals  which  had  just  passed  had  recalled  the  free- 
dom of  her  existence  among  the  wild  droves  on  the  prairie, 
suddenly  dashed  into  the  hills  at  the  top  of  her  speed.  She 
was  their  pack-horse,  and  had  on  her  back  all  the  worldly 
wealth  of  our  poor  Cheyennes,  all  their  accoutrements,  and  all 
the  little  articles  which  they  had  picked  up  among  us,  with 
some  few  presents  I  had  given  them.  The  loss  which  they 
seemed  to  regret  most  were  their  spears  and  shields,  and  some 
tobacco  which  they  had  received  from  me.  However,  they 
bore  it  all  with  the  philosophy  of  an  Indian,  and  laughingly 
continued  their  toilette.  They  appeared,  however,  to  be  a 
little  mortified  at  the  thought  of  returning  to  the  village  in 
such  a  sorry  plight.  "  Our  people  will  laugh  at  us,"  said  one 
of  them,  "  returning  to  the  village  on  foot,  instead  of  driving 
back  a  drove  of  Pawnee  horses."  He  demanded  to  know  if  I 
loved  my  sorrel  hunter  very  much  ;  to  which  I  replied,  he  was 
the  object  of  my  most  intense  affection.  Far  from  being  able 
to  give,  I  was  myself  in  want  of  horses ;  and  any  suggestion 
of  parting  with  the  few  I  had  valuable,  was  met  with  a  per- 
emptory refusal.  In  the  mean  time,  the  slaughter  was  about 
to  commence  on  the  other  side.  So  soon  as  they  reached  it, 
the  Indians  separated  into  two  bodies.  One  party  proceeded 
directly  across  the  prairie,  towards  the  hills,  in  an  extended 


38  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JuLY, 

line,  while  the  other  went  up  the  river ;  and  instantly  as  they 
had  given  the  wind  to  the  herd,  the  chase  commenced.  The 
buffalo  started  for  the  hills,  but  were  intercepted  and  driven 
back  towards  the  river,  broken  and  running  in  every  direction. 
The  clouds  of  dust  soon  covered  the  whole  scene,  preventing 
us  from  having  any  but  an  occasional  view.  It  had  a  very 
singular  appearance  to  us  at  a  distance,  especially  when  look- 
ing with  the  glass.  We  were  too  far  to  hear  the  report  of  the 
guns,  or  any  sound  ;  and  at  every  instant,  through  the  clouds 
of  dust,  which  the  sun  made  luminous,  we  could  see  for  a 
moment  two  or  three  buffalo  dashing  along,  and  close  behind 
them  an  Indian  with  his  long  spear,  or  other  weapon,  and  in- 
stantly again  they  disappeared.  The  apparent  silence,  and 
the  dimly  seen  figures  flitting  by  with  such  rapidity,  gave  it  a 
kind  of  dreamy  effect,  and  seemed  more  like  a  picture  than  a 
scene  of  real  life.  It  had  been  a  large  herd  when  the  cerne 
commenced,  probably  three  or  four  hundred  in  number ;  but, 
though  I  watched  them  closely,  I  did  not  see  one  emerge  from 
the  fatal  cloud  where  the  work  of  destruction  was  going  on. 
After  remaining  here  about  an  hour,  we  resumed  our  journey 
in  the  direction  of  the  village. 

Gradually,  as  we  rode  on,  Indian  after  Indian  came  drop- 
ping along,  laden  with  meat ;  and  by  the  time  we  had  neared 
the  lodges,  the  backward  road  was  covered  with  the  returning 
horsemen.  It  was  a  pleasant  contrast  with  the  desert  road  we 
had  been  traveling.  Several  had  joined  company  with  us,  and 
one  of  the  chiefs  invited  us  to  his  lodge.  The  village  con- 
sisted of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  lodges,  of  which 
twenty  were  Cheyennes ;  the  latter  pitched  a  little  apart  from 
the  Arapahoes.  They  were  disposed  in  a  scattering  manner 
on  both  sides  of  a  broad,  irregular  street,  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  wide,  and  running  along  the  river.  As  we  rode 
along,  I  remarked  near  some  of  the  lodges  a  kind  of  tripod 
frame,  formed  of  three  slender  poles  of  birch,  scraped  very 
clean,  to  which  were  affixed  the  shield  and  spear,  with  some 
other  weapons  of  a  chief.  All  were  scrupulously  clean,  the 
spear-head  was  burnished  bright,  and  the  shield  white  and 
stainless.  It  reminded  me  of  the  days  of  feudal  chivalry ; 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  39 

and  when,  as  I  rode  by,  I  yielded  to  the  passing  impulse,  and 
touched  one  of  the  spotless  shields  with  the  muzzle  of  my  gun, 
I  almost  expected  a  grim  warrior  to  start  from  the  lodge  and 
resent  my  challenge.  The  master  of  the  lodge  spread  out  a 
robe  for  me  to  sit  upon,  and  the  squaws  set  before  us  a  large 
wooden  dish  of  buffalo  meat.  He  had  lit  his  pipe  in  the  mean 
while,  and  when  it  had  been  passed  around,  we  commenced 
our  dinner  while  he  continued  to  smoke.  Gradually,  however, 
five  or  six  other  chiefs  came  in,  and  took  their  seats  in  silence. 
When  we  had  finished,  our  host  asked  a  number  of  questions 
relative  to  the  object  of  our  journey,  of  which  I  made  no  con- 
cealment ;  telling  him  simply  that  I  had  made  a  visit  to  see 
the  country,  preparatory  to  the  establishment  of  military  posts 
on  the  way  to  the  mountains.  Although  this  was  information 
of  the  highest  interest  to  them,  and  by  no  means  calculated  to 
please  them,  it  excited  no  expression  of  surprise,  and  in  no 
way  altered  the  grave  courtesy  of  their  demeanor.  The 
others  listened  and  smoked.  I  remarked,  that  in  taking  the 
pipe  for  the  first  time,  each  had  turned  the  stem  upward,  with 
a  rapid  glance,  as  in  offering  to  the  Great  Spirit,  before  he  put 
it  in  his  mouth.  A  storm  had  been  gathering  for  the  past 
hour,  and  some  pattering  drops  in  the  lodge  warned  us  that  we 
had  some  miles  to  our  camp.  An  Indian  had  given  Max- 
well a  bundle  of  dried  meat,  which  was  very  acceptable,  as 
we  had  nothing ;  and,  springing  upon  our  horses,  we  rode  off 
at  dusk  in  the  face  of  a  cold  shower  and  driving  wind.  We 
found  our  companions  under  some  densely  foliaged  old  trees, 
about  three  miles  up  the  river.  Under  one  of  them  lay  the 
trunk  of  a  large  cottonwood,  to  leeward  of  which  the  men 
had  kindled  a  fire,  and  we  sat  here  and  roasted  our  meat  in 
tolerable  shelter.  Nearly  opposite  was  the  mouth  of  one 
of  the  most  considerable  affluents  of  the  South  fork,  la  Fourche 
aux  Castors,  (Beaver  fork,)  heading  oft'  in  the  ridge  to  the 
southeast. 

9th. — This  morning  we  caught  the  first  faint  glimpse  of  the 
Rocky  mountains,  about  sixty  miles  distant.  Though  a  tolera- 
bly bright  day,  there  was  a  slight  mist,  and  we  were  just  able 
to  discern  the  snowy  summit  of  "  Long's  peak,"  ("  Us  deux 


40  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

oreilles"  of  the  Canadians,)  showing  like  a  cloud  near  the 
horizon.  I  found  it  easily  distinguishable,  there  being  a  per- 
ceptible  difference  in  its  appearance  from  the  white  clouds  that 
were  floating  about  the  sky.  I  was  pleased  to  find  that  among 
the  traders  the  name  of  "  Long's  peak'7  had  been  adopted  and 
become  familiar  in  the  country.  In  the  ravines  near  this 
place,  a  light  brown  sandstone  made  its  first  appearance. 
About  8,  we  discerned  several  persons  on  horseback  a  mile  or 
two  ahead,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  They  turned  in 
towards  the  river,  and  we  rode  down  to  meet  them.  We  found 
them  to  be  two  white  men,  and  a  mulatto  named  Jim  Beck- 
with,  who  had  left  St.  Louis  when  a  boy,  and  gone  to  live  with 
the  Crow  Indians.  He  had  distinguished  himself  among  them 
by  some  acts  of  daring  bravery,  and  had  risen  to  the  rank  of 
chief,  but  had  now,  for  some  years,  left  them.  They  were  in 
search  of  a  band  of  horses  that  had  gone  off  from  a  camp 
some  miles  above,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Chabonard.  Two  of  them 
continued  down  the  river,  in  search  of  the  horses,  and  the 
American  turned  back  with  us,  and  we  rode  on  towards  the 
camp.  About  eight  miles  from  our  sleeping- place,  we  reached 
Bijou's  fork,  an  affluent  of  the  right  bank.  Where  we  crossed 
it,  a  short  distance  from  the  Platte,  it  has  a  sandy  bed  about 
four  hundred  yards  broad  ;  the  water  in  various  small  streams, 
a  few  inches  deep.  Seven  miles  further  brought  us  to  the  camp 
of  some  four  or  five  whites,  (New  Englanders,  I  believe,)  who 
had  accompanied  Captain  Wyeth  to  the  Columbia  river,  and 
were  independent  trappers.  All  had  their  squaws  with  them, 
and  I  was  really  surprised  at  the  number  of  little  fat,  buffalo- 
fed  boys  that  were  tumbling  about  the  camp,  all  apparently  of 
the  same  age,  about  three  or  four  years  old.  They  were  en- 
camped on  a  rich  bottom,  covered  with  a  profusion  of  rich 
grass,  and  had  a  large  number  of  fine-looking  horses  and 
mules.  We  rested  with  them  a  few  minutes,  and  in  about  two 
miles  arrived  at  Chabonard's  camp,  on  an  island  in  the  Platte. 
On  the  heights  above,  we  met  the  first  Spaniard  I  had  seen  in 
the  country.  Mr.  Chabonard  was  in  the  service  of  Bent  and 
St.  Vrain's  company,  and  had  left  their  fort  some  forty  or 
fifty  miles  above,  in  the  spring,  with  boats  laden  with  the  furs 

*  - 


1942.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  41 

of  the  last  year's  trade.  He  had  met  the  same  fortune  as  the 
voyageurs  on  the  North  fork ;  and,  finding  it  impossible  to 
proceed,  had  taken  up  his  summer's  residence  on  this  island, 
which  he  had  named  St.  Helena.  The  river  hills  appeared  to 
be  composed  entirely  of  sand,  and  the  Platte  had  lost  the 
muddy  character  of  its  waters,  and  here  was  tolerably  clear. 
From  the  mouth  of  the  South  fork,  1  had  found  it  occasionally 
broken  up  by  small  islands ;  and  at  the  time  of  our  journey, 
which  was  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  the  waters  were  at  a 
favorable  stage,  it  was  not  navigable  for  any  thing  drawing 
six  inches  water.  The  current  was  very  swift — the  bed  of 
the  stream  a  coarse  gravel.  From  the  place  at  which  we  had 
encountered  the  Arapahoes,  the  Platte  had  been  tolerably  well 
fringed  with  timber,  and  the  island  here  had  a  fine  grove  of 
very  large  cottonwoods,  under  whose  broad  shade  the  tents 
were  pitched.  There  was  a  large  drove  of  horses  in  the  op- 
posite prairie  bottom  ;  smoke  was  rising  from  the  scattered  fires', 
and  the  encampment  had  quite  a  patriarchal  air.  Mr.  C.  re- 
ceived us  hospitably.  One  of  the  people  was  sent  to  gather 
mint,  with  the  aid  of  which  he  concocted  very  good  julep  •, 
and  some  boiled  buffalo  tongue,  and  coffee  with  the  luxury 
of  sugar,  were  soon  set  before  us.  The  people  in  his  employ 
were  generally  Spaniards,  and  among  them  I  saw  a  young 
Spanish  woman  from  Taos,  whom  I  found  to  be  Beckwith's 
wife. 

10th. — We  parted  with  our  hospitable  host  after  breakfast 
the  next  morning,  and  reached  St.  Vrain's  fort,  about  forty-five 
miles  from  St.  Helena,  late  in  the  evening.  This  post  is  situ- 
ated on  the  South  fork  of  the  Platte,  immediately  under  the 
mountains,  about  seventeen  miles  east  of  Long's  peak.  It  is 
on  the  right  bank,  on  the  verge  of  the  upland  prairie,  about 
forty  feet  above  the  river,  of  which  the  immediate  valley  is 
about  six  hundred  yards  wide.  The  stream  is  divided  into 
various  branches  by  small  islands,  among  which  it  runs  with 
a  swift  current.  The  bed  of  the  river  is  sand  and  gravel,  the 
water  very  clear,  and  here  may  be  called  a  mountain-stream. 
This  region  appears  to  be  entirely  free  from  the  limestones  and 
marls  which  give  to  the  Lower  Platte  its  yellow  and  dirty  color. 


42  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [!ULT, 

The  Black  hills  lie  between  the  stream  and  the  mountains, 
whose  snowy  peaks  glitter  a  few  miles  beyond.  At  the  fort 
we  found  Mr.  St.  Vrain,  who  received  us  with  much  kindness 
and  hospitality.  Maxwell  had  spent  the  last  two  or  three  years 
between  this  post  and  the  village  of  Taos ;  and  here  he  was  at 
home,  and  among  his  friends,  Spaniards  frequently  carne 
over  in.  search  of  employment ;  and  several  came  in  shortly 
after  our  arrival.  They  usually  obtain  about  six  dollars  a 
month,  generally  paid  to  them  in  goods.  They  are  very  use- 
ful in  a  camp,  in  taking  care  of  horses  and  mules ;  and  I  en 
gaged  one,  who  proved  to  be  an  active,  laborious  man,  and  was 
of  very  considerable  service  to  me.  The  elevation  of  the 
Platte  here  is  five  thousand  four  hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 
The  neighboring  mountains  did  not  appear  to  enter  far  the  re- 
gion of  perpetual  snow,  which  was  generally  confined  to  the 
northern  side  of  the  peaks.  On  the  southern,  I  remarked  very 
little.  Here  it  appeared,  so  far  as  I  could  judge  in  the  dis- 
tance, to  descend  but  a  few  hundred  feet  below  the  summits. 

I  regretted  that  time  did  not  permit  me  to  visit  them ;  but 
the  proper  object  of  my  survey  lay  among  the  mountains  far- 
ther north ;  and  I  looked  forward  to  an  exploration  of  their 
snowy  recesses  with  great  pleasure.  The  piney  region  of  the 
mountains  to  the  south  was  enveloped  in  smoke,  and  I  was  in- 
formed had  been  on  fire  for  several  months.  Pike's  peak  is 
said  to  be  visible  from  this  place,  about  one  hundred  miles  to 
the  southward  ;  but  the  smoky  state  of  the  atmosphere  prevent- 
ed my  seeing  it.  The  weather  continued  overcast  during  my 
stay  here,  so  that  I  failed  in  determining  the  latitude,  but  ob- 
tained good  observations  for  the  time  on  the  mornings  of  the 
llth  and  12th.  An  assumed  latitude  of  40°  22'  30"  from  the 
evening  position  of  the  12th,  enabled  me  to  obtain  for  a  toler- 
ably correct  longitude,  105°  12'  12". 

12th. — The  kindness  of  Mr.  St.  Vrain  enabled  me  to  obtain 
a  couple  of  horses  and  three  good  mules ;  and,  with  a  further 
addition  to  our  party  of  the  Spaniard  whom  I  had  hired,  and 
two  others,  who  were  going  to  obtain  service  at  Laramie's  fork, 
we  resumed  our  journey  at  ten,  on  the  morning  of  the  12th. 
We  had  been  able  to  procure  nothing  at  the  post  in  the  way 


1842.]  CAFT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  43 

of  provision.  An  expected  supply  from  Taos  had  not  yet  ar- 
rived, and  a  lew  pounds  of  coffee  was  all  that  could  be  spared 
to  us.  In  addition  to  this  we  had  dried  meat  enough  for  the 
first  day  ;  on  the  next,  we  expected  to  find  buffalo.  From  this 
post,  according  to  the  estimate  of  the  country,  the  fort  at  the 
mouth  of  Laramie's  fork,  which  was  our  next  point  of  destina- 
tion, was  nearly  due  north,  distant  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles. 

For  a  short  distance  our  road  lay  down  the  valley  of  the 
Platte,  which  resembled  a  garden  in  the  splendor  of  fields  of 
varied  flowers,  which  filled  the  air  with  fragrance.  The  only 
timber  I  noticed  consisted  of  poplar,,  birch,  cottonwood,  and 
willow.  In  something  less  than  three  miles  we  crossed  Thomp- 
son's creek,  one  of  the  affluents  to  the  left  bank  of  the  South 
fork — a  fine  stream  about  sixty-five  feet  wide,  and  three  feet 
deep.  Journeying  on,  the  low  dark  line  of  the  Black  hills 
lying  between  us  and  the  mountains  to  the  left,  in  about  ten 
miles  from  the  fort,  we  reached  Cache  a  la  Poudre,  where  we 
halted  to  noon.  This  is  a  very  beautiful  mountain-stream, 
about  one  hundred  feet  wide,  flowing  with  a  full  swift  current 
over  a  rocky  bed.  We  halted  under  the  shade  of  some  cotton- 
woods,  with  which  the  stream  is  wooded  scatteringly.  In  the 
upper  part  of  its  course,  it  runs  amid  the  wildest  mountain 
scenery,  and,  breaking  through  the  Black  hills,  falls  into  the 
Platte  about  ten  miles  below  this  place.  In  the  course  of  our 
late  journey,  I  had  managed  to  become  the  possessor  of  a  very 
untractable  mule — a  perfect  vixen — and  her  I  had  turned  over 
to  my  Spaniard.  It  occupied  us  about  half  an  hour  to-day  to 
get  the  saddle  upon  her ;  but,  once  on  her  back,  Jose  could  not 
be  dismounted,  realizing  the  accounts  given  of  Mexican  horses 
and  horsemanship ;  and  we  continued  our  route  in  the  after- 
noon. 

At  evening,  we  encamped  on  Crow  creek,  having  traveled 
about  twenty-eight  miles.  None  of  the  party  were  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  country,  and  I  had  great  difficulty  in  ascer- 
taining what  were  the  names  of  the  streams  we  crossed  between 
the  North  and  South  forks  of  the  Platte.  This  I  supposed  to 
be  Crow  creek.  It  is  what  is  called  a  salt  stream,  and  the 


44  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY. 

water  stands  in  pools,  having  no  continuous  course.  A  fine- 
grained sandstone  madelts  appearance  in  the  banks.  The  ob- 
servations of  the  night  placed  us  in  latitude  40°  42',  longitude 
104°  57'  49".  The  barometer  at  sunset  was  25-231 ;  attached 
thermometer  at  66°.  Sky  clear,  except  in  the  east,  with  a 
light  wind  from  the  north. 

13th. — There  being  no  wood  here,  we  used  last  night  the 
lots  de  vache,  which  is  very  plentiful.  At  our  camp  this 
morning,  the  barometer  was  at  25*235  ;  the  attached  thermom- 
eter 60°.  A  few  clouds  were  moving  through  a  deep-blue 
sky,  with  a  light  wind  from  the  west.  After  a  ride  of  twelve 
miles,  in  a  northerly  direction,  over  a  plain  covered  with  innu- 
merable quantities  of  cacti,  we  reached  a  small  creek  in  which 
there  was  water,  and  where  several  herds  of  buffalo  were 
scattered  about  among  the  ravines,  which  always  afford  good 
pasturage.  We  seem  now  to  be  passing  along  the  base  of  a 
plateau  of  the  Black  hills,  in  which  the  formation  consists  of 
marls,  some  of  them  white  and  laminated  ;  the  country  to  the 
left  rising  suddenly,  and  falling  off  gradually  and  uniformly  to 
the  right.  In  five  or  six  miles  of  a  northeasterly  course,  we 
struck  a  high  ridge,  broken  into  conical  peaks,  on  whose  sum- 
mits large  boulders  were  gathered  in  heaps.  The  magnetic 
direction  of  the  ridge  is  northwest  and  southeast,  the  glittering 
white  of  its  precipitous  sides  making  it  visible  for  many  miles 
to  the  south.  It  is  composed  of  a  soft  earthy  limestone  and 
marls,  resembling  that  hereafter  described  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Chimney  rock,  on  the  North  fork  of  the  Platte, 
easily  worked  by  the  winds  and  rains,  and  sometimes  moulded 
into  very  fantastic  shapes.  At  the  foot  of  the  northern  slope 
was  the  bed  of  a  creek,  some  forty  feet  wide,  coming,  by  fre- 
quent falls,  from  the  bench  above.  It  was  shut  in  by  high, 
perpendicular  banks,  in  which  were  strata  of  white  laminated 
marl.  Its  bed  was  perfectly  dry,  and  the  leading  feature  of 
the  whole  region  is  one  of  remarkable  aridity,  and  perfect 
freedom  from  moisture.  In  about  six  miles  we  crossed  the 
bed  of  another  dry  creek  ;  and,  continuing  our  ride  over  a  high 
level  prairie,  a  little  before  sundown  we  came  suddenly  upon 
a  beautiful  creek,  which  revived  us  with  a  feeling  of  delighted 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  45 

surprise  by  the  pleasant  contrast  of  the  deep  verdure  of  its 
banks  with  the  parched  desert  we  had  passed.  We  had  su£ 
fered  much  to-day,  both  men  and  horses,  for  want  of  water ; 
having  met  with  it  but  once  in  our  uninterrupted  march  of 
forty  miles ;  and  an  exclusive  meat  diet  creates  much  thirst. 

"  Les  bestias  tienen  mucha  ha,mbre"  said  the  young  Spaniard, 
inquiringly  :  "  y  la  genie  tambien,"  said  I,  "  amiago,  we'll  camp 
here."  A  stream  of  good  and  clear  water  ran  winding  about 
through  the  little  valley,  and  a  herd  of  buffalo  were  quietly 
feeding  a  little  distance  below.  It  was  quite  a  hunter's  para- 
dise ',  and  while  "some  ran  down  towards  the  band  to  kill  one 
for  supper,  others  collected  bois  de  vache  for  a  fire,  there  being 
no  wood ;  and  I  amused  myself  with  hunting  for  plants  among 
the  grass. 

It  will  be  seen,  by  occasional  remarks  on  the  geological 
formation,  that  the  constituents  of  the  soil  in  these  regions  are 
good,  and  every  day  served  to  strengthen  the  impression  in 
my  mind,  confirmed  by  subsequent  observation,  that  the  barren 
appearance  of  the  country  is  due  almost  entirely  to  the  ex- 
treme dryness  of  the  climate.  Along  our  route,  the  country  had 
seemed  to  increase  constantly  in  elevation.  According  to  the 
indication  of  the  barometer,  we  were  at  our  encampment  5,440 
feet  above  the  sea. 

The  evening  was  very  clear,  with  a  fresh  breeze  from  the 
south,  50°  east.  The  barometer  at  sunset  was  24-802,  the 
thermometer  attached  showing  68°.  I  supposed  this  to  be  a 
fork  of  Lodge  Pole  creek,  so  far  as  I  could  determine  from  our 
uncertain  means  of  information.  Astronomical  observations 
gave  for  the  camp  a  longitude  of  104°  Stf  37",  and  latitude 
41°  08'  31". 

14th. — The  wind  continued  fresh  from  the  same  quarter  in 
the  morning  ;  the  day  being  clear,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
clouds  in  the  horizon.  At  our  camp,  at  six  o'clock,  the  height 
of  the  barometer  was  24-830,  the  attached  thermometer  61°. 
Our  course  this  morning  was  directly  north  by  compass,  the 
variation  being  15°  or  16°  easterly.  A  ride  of  four  miles 
brought  us  to  Lodge  Pole  creek,  which  we  had  seen  at  the 
mouth  of  the  South  fork  ;  crossing  on  the  way  two  dry  streams. 


46  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JTTLY, 

in  eighteen  miles  from  our  encampment  of  the  past  night,  we 
reached  a  high  bleak  ridge,  composed  entirely  of  the  same 
earthy  limestone  and  marl  previously  described.  I  had  never 
seen  any  thing  which  impressed  so  strongly  on  my  mind  a 
feeling  of  desolation.  The  valley,  through  which  ran  the 
waters  of  Horse  creek,  lay  in  view  to  the  north,  but  too  far  to 
have  any  influence  on  the  immediate  view.  On  the  peak  of 
the  ridge  where  I  was  standing,  some  seven  hundred  feet 
above  the  river,  the  wind  was  high  and  bleak ;  the  barren  and 
arid  country  seemed  as  if  it  had  been  swept  by  fires,  and  in 
every  direction  the  same  dull  ash-colored  hue,  derived  from 
the  formation,  met  the  eye.  On  the  summits  were  some 
stunted  pines,  many  of  them  dead,  all  wearing  the  same  ashen 
hue  of  desolation.  We  left  the  place  with  pleasure  ;  and, 
after  we  had  descended  several  hundred  feet,  halted  in  one  of 
the  ravines,  which,  at  the  distance  of  every  mile  or  two,  cut 
the  flanks  of  the  ridge  with  little  rushing  streams,  wearing 
something  of  a  mountain  character.  We  had  already  begun 
to  exchange  the  comparatively  barren  lands  for  those  of  a 
more  fertile  character.  Though  the  sandstone  formed  the 
broken  banks  of  the  creek,  yet  they  were  covered  with  a  thin 
grass ;  and  the  fifty  or  sixty  feet  which  formed  the  bottom  land 
of  the  little  stream  were  clothed  with  very  luxuriant  grass, 
among  which  I  remarked  willow  and  cherry,  (cerasus  vir 
gimana,)  and  a  quantity  of  gooseberry  and  currant  bushes  oc 
cupied  the  greater  part. 

The  creek  was  three  or  four  feet  broad,  and  about  six  inches 
deep,  with  a  swift  current  of  clear  water,  and  tolerably  cool. 
We  had  struck  it  too  low  down  to  find  the  cold  water,  which 
we  should  have  enjoyed,  nearer  to  its  sources.  At  two,  p.  M., 
the  barometer  was  at  25-050,  and  the  attached  thermometer 
104°.  A  day  of  hot  sunshine,  with  clouds,  and  moderate 
breeze  from  the  south.  Continuing  down  the  stream,  in  abou1 
four  miles  we  reached  its  mouth,  at  one  of  the  main  branche; 
of  Horse  creek.  Looking  back  upon  the  ridge,  whose  direc 
tion  appeared  to  be  a  little  to  the  north  of  east,  we  saw  it 
seamed  at  frequent  intervals  with  the  dark  lines  of  wooded 
streams,  affluents  of  the  river  that  flowed  so  far  as  we  could 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  47 

see  along  its  base.  We  crossed,  in  the  space  of  twelve  miles 
from  our  noon  halt,  three  or  four  forks  of  Horse  creek,  and 
encamped  at  sunset  on  the  most  easterly. 

The  fork  on  which  we  encamped  appeared  to  have  followed 
an  easterly  direction  up  to  this  place  ;  but  here  it  makes  a 
very  sudden  bend  to  the  north,  passing  between  two  ranges  of 
precipitous  hills,  called,  as  I  was  informed,  Goshen's  hole. 
There  is  somewhere  in  or  near  this  locality  a  place  so  called, 
but  I  am  not  certain  that  it  was  the  place  of  our  encampment. 
Looking  back  upon  the  spot,  at  the  distance  of  a  few  miles  to 
the  northward,  the  hills  appear  to  shut  in  the  prairie,  through 
which  runs  the  creek,  with  a  semicircular  sweep,  which  might 
very  naturally  be  called  a  hole  in  the  hills.  The  geological 
composition  of  the  ridge  is  the  same  which  constitutes  the  rock 
of  the  Court-house  and  Chimney,  on  the  North  fork,  which  ap- 
peared to  me  a  continuation  of  this  ridge.  The  winds  and 
rains  work  this  formation  into  a  variety  of  singular  forms.  The 
pass  into  Goshen's  hole  is  about  two  miles  wide,  and  the  hill 
on  the  western  side  imitates,  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  a 
massive  fortified  place,  with  a  remarkable  fulness  of  detail. 
The  rock  is  marl  and  earthy  limestone,  white,  without  the 
least  appearance  of  vegetation,  and  much  resembles  masonry 
at  a  little  distance ;  and  here  it  sweeps  around  a  level  area 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  in  diameter,  and  in  the  form  of  a 
half  moon,  terminating  on  either  extremity  in  enormous  bas- 
tions. Along  the  whole  line  of  the  parapets  appear  domes 
and  slender  minarets,  forty  or  fifty  feet  high,  giving  it  every 
appearance  of  an  old  fortified  town.  On  the  waters  of  White 
river,  where  this  formation  exists  in  great  extent,  it  presents 
appearances  which  excite  the  admiration  of  the  solitary  voy- 
ageur,  and  form  a  frequent  theme  of  their  conversation  when 
speaking  of  the  wonders  of  the  country.  Sometimes  it  offers 
the  perfectly  illusive  appearance  of  a  large  city,  with  numer- 
ous streets  and  magnificent  buildings,  among  which  the  Cana- 
dians neve"r  fail  to  see  their  cabaret — and  sometimes  it  takes 
the  form  of  a  solitary  house,  with  many  large  chambers,  into 
which  they  drive  their  horses  at  night,  and  sleep  in  these  nat- 
ural defences  perfectly  secure  from  any  attack  of  prowling 


48  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

savages.  Before  reaching  our  camp  at  Goshen  s  hole,  in 
crossing  the  immense  detritus  at  the  foot  of  the  Castle  rock,  we 
were  involved  amidst  winding  passages  cut  by  the  waters  of 
the  hill ;  and  where,  with  a  breadth  scarcely  large  enough 
for  the  passage  of  a  horse,  the  walls  rise  thirty  and  forty  feet 
perpendicularly.  This  formation  supplies  the  discoloration  of 
the  Platte.  At  sunset,  the  height  of  the  mercurial  column  was 
25-500,  the  attached  thermometer  80°,  and  wind  moderate 
from  S.  38°  E.  Clouds  covered  the  sky  with  the  rise  of  the 
moon,  but  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  usual  astronomical  ob- 
servations, which  placed  us  in  latitude  41°  40'  13",  and  longi- 
tude 104°  24'  36". 

15th. — At  six  this  morning,  the  barometer  was  at  25'515 
the  thermometer  72° ;  the  day  was  fine,  with  some  clouds 
looking  dark  on  the  south,  with  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  same 
quarter.  We  found  that  in  our  journey  across  the  country 
we  had  kept  too  much  to  the  eastward.  This  morning,  ac- 
cordingly, we  traveled  by  compass  some  15  or  20  to  the  west 
of  north,  and  struck  the  Platte  some  thirteen  miles  below  Fort 
Laramie.  The  day  was  extremely  hot,  and  among  the  hills 
the  wind  seemed  to  have  just  issued  from  an  oven.  Our 
horses  were  much  distressed,  as  we  had  traveled  hard  ;  and 
it  was  with  some  difficulty  that  they  were  all  brought  to  the 
Platte,  which  we  reached  at  one  o'clock.  In  riding  in  towards 
the  river,  we  found  the  trail  of  our  carts,  which  appeared  to 
have  passed  a  day  or  two  since. 

After  having  allowed  our  animals  two  hours  for  food  and 
repose,  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  towards  the  close  of  the 
day  came  in  sight  of  Laramie's  fork.  Issuing  from  the  river 
hills,  we  came  first  in  view  of  Fort  Platte,  a  post  belonging  to 
Messrs.  Sybille,  Adams  &  Co.,  situated  immediately  in  the 
point  of  land  at  the  junction  of  Laramie  with  the  Platte.  Like 
the  post  we  had  visited  on  the  South  fork,  it  was  built  of  earth, 
and  still  unfinished,  being  enclosed  with  walls  (or  rather 
houses)  on  three  of  the  sides,  and  open  on  the  fourth  to  the 
river.  A  few  hundred  yards  brought  us  in  view  of  the  post 
of  the  American  Fur  Company,  called  Fort  John,  or  Laramie. 
This  was  a  large  post  having  more  the  air  of  military  con- 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  49 

struction  than  the  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  It  is  on  the 
left  bank,  on  a  rising  ground  some  twenty-five  feet  above  the 
water ;  an$  its  lofty  walls,  whitewashed  and  picketed,  with 
the  large  bastions  at  the  angles,  gave  it  quite  an  imposing  ap- 
pearance in  the  uncertain  light  of  evening.  A  cluster  of 
lodges,  which  the  language  told  us  belonged  to  Sioux  Indians, 
was  pitched  under  the  walls ;  and,  with  the  fine  background 
of  the  Black  hills  and  the  prominent  peak  of  Laramie  moun- 
tain, strongly  drawn  in  the  clear  light  of  the  western  sky, 
where  the  sun  had  already  set,  the  whole  formed  at  the  mo- 
ment a  strikingly  beautiful  picture.  From  the  company  at 
St.  Louis  I  had  letters  for  Mr.  Boudeau,  the  gentleman  in 
charge  of  the  post,  by  whom  I  was  received  with  great  hospi- 
tality and  an  efficient  kindness,  which  was  invaluable  to  me 
during  my  stay  in  the  country.  I  found  our  people  encamped 
on  the  bank,  a  short  distance  above  the  fort.  All  were  well ; 
and,  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  bountiful  supper,  which  coffee  and 
oread  made  luxurious  to  us,  we  soon  forgot  the  fatigues  of  the 
last  ten  days. 

16th. — I  found  that,  during  my  absence,  the  situation  of  af- 
fairs had  undergone  some  change ;  and  the  usual  quiet  and 
somewhat  monotonous  regularity  of  the  camp  had  given  place 
to  excitement  and  alarm.  The  circumstances  which  occasion- 
ed this  change  will  be  found  narrated  in  the  following  extract 
from  the  journal  of  Mr.  Preuss,  which  commences  with  the 
day  of  our  separation  on  the  South  fork  of  the  Platte  : 

"  6th. — We  crossed  the  plateau  or  highland  between  the  two 
forks  in  about  six  hours.  I  let  my  horse  go  as  slow  as  he 
liked,  to  indemnify  us  both  for  the  previous  hardship ;  and 
about  noon  we  reached  the  North  fork.  There  was  no  sign 
that  our  party  had  passed  ;  we  rode,  therefore,  to  some  pine 
trees,  unsaddled  the  horses,  and  stretched  our  limbs  on  the 
grass,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  our  company.  After  remaining 
here  two  hours,  my  companion  became  impatient,  mounted  his 
horse  again,  and  rode  off  down  the  river  to  see  if  he  could  dis- 
cover our  people.  I  felt  so  marode  yet,  that  it  was  a  horrible 
idea  to  me  to  bestride  that  saddle  again ;  so  I  lay  still.  I  knew 
they  could  not  come  any  other  way,  and  then  my  companion, 
3 


50  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JtfLY, 

one  of  the  best  men  of  the  company,  would  not  abandon  me. 
The  sun  went  down — he  did  not  come.  Uneasy  I  did  not  feel, 
but  very  hungry.  I  had  no  provisions,  but  I  could  make  a 
fire ;  and  as  I  espied  two  doves  in  a  tree,  I  tried  to  kill  one. 
But  it  needs  a  better  marksman  than  myself  to  kill  a  little  bird 
with  a  rifle.  I  made  a  fire,  however,  lighted  my  pipe — this 
true  friend  of  mine  in  every  emergency — lay  down,  and  let 
my  thoughts  wander  to  the  far  east.  It  was  not  many  minutes 
after  when  I  heard  the  tramp  of  a  horse,  and  my  faithful  com- 
panion was  by  my  side.  He  had  found  the  party,  who  had 
been  delayed  by  making  their  cache,  about  seven  miles  below. 
To  the  good  supper  which  he  brought  with  him  I  did  ample 
justice.  He  had  forgotten  salt,  and  I  tried  the  soldier's  substi- 
tute in  time  of  war,  and  used  gunpowder ;  but  it  answered 
badly — bitter  enough,  but  no  flavor  of  kitchen  salt.  I  slept 
well ;  and  was  only  disturbed  by  two  owls,  which  were  at- 
tracted by  the  fire,  and  took  their  place  in  the  tree  under  which 
we  slept.  Their  music  seemed  as  disagreeable  to  my  compan- 
ion as  to  myself;  he  fired  his  rifle  twice,  and  then  they  let 
us  alone. 

"  7th. — At  about  10  o'clock,  the  party  arrived ;  and  we  con- 
tinued  our  journey  through  a  country  which  offered  but  little 
to  interest  the  traveler.  The  soil  was  much  more  sandy  than 
in  the  valley  below  the  confluence  of  the  forks,  and  the  face 
of  the  country  no  longer  presented  the  refreshing  green  which 
had  hitherto  characterized  it.  The  rich  grass  was  now  found 
only  in  dispersed  spots,  on  low  grounds,  and  on  the  bottom  land 
of  the  streams.  A  long  drought,  joined  to  extreme  heat,  had 
so  parched  up  the  upper  prairies,  that  they  were  in  many 
places  bald,  or  covered  only  with  a  thin  growth  of  yellow  and 
poor  grass.  The  nature  of  the  soil  renders  it  extremely  sus- 
ceptible to  the  vicissitudes  of  the  climate.  Between  the  forks, 
and  from  their  junction  to  the  Black  hills,  the  formation  con- 
sists of  marl  and  a  soft  earthy  limestone,  with  granitic  sand- 
stone. Such  a  formation  cannot  give  rise  to  a  sterile  soil ; 
and,  on  our  return  in  September,  when  the  country  had  been 
watered  by  frequent  rains,  the  valley  of  the  Platte  looked  like 
a  garden  j  so  rich  was  the  verdure  of  the  grasses,  and  so  lux- 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  51 

uriant  the  bloom  of  abundant  flowers.  The  wild  sage  begins 
to  make  its  appearance,  and  timber  is  so  scarce  that  we  gen- 
erally  made  our  fires  of  the  bois  de  vache.  With  the  exception 
of  now  and  then  an  isolated  tree  or  two,  standing  like  a  light- 
house  on  the  river  bank,  there  is  none  to  be  seen. 

"  8th. — Our  road  to-day  was  a  solitary  one.  No  game  made 
its  appearance — not  even  a  buffalo  or  a  stray  antelope ;  and 
nothing  occurred  to  break  the  monotony  until  about  5  o'clock, 
when  the  caravan  made  a  sudden  halt.  There  was  a  galloping 
in  of  scouts  and  horsemen  from  every  side — a  hurrying  to  and 
fro  in  noisy  confusion ;  rifles  were  taken  from  their  covers ; 
bullet  pouches  examined :  in  short,  there  was  the  cry  of  '  In- 
dians,' heard  again.  I  had  become  so  much  accustomed  to 
these  alarms,  that  they  now  made  but  little  impression  on  me ; 
and  before  I  had  time  to  become  excited,  the  new-comers  were 
ascertained  to  be  whites.  It  was  a  large  party  of  traders  and 
trappers,  conducted  by  Mr.  Bridger,  a  man  well  known  in  the 
history  of  the  country.  As  the  sun  was  low,  and  there  was  a 
fine  grass  patch  not  far  ahead,  they  turned  back  and  encamped 
for  the  night  with  us.  Mr.  Bridger  was  invited  to  supper ; 
and,  after  the  table-cloth  was  removed,  we  listened  with  eager 
interest  to  an  account  of  their  adventures.  What  they  had 
met,  we  would  be  likely  to  encounter ;  the  chances  which  had 
befallen  them,  would  probably  happen  to  us ;  and  we  looked 
upon  their  life  as  a  picture  of  our  own.  He  informed  us  that 
the  condition  of  the  country  had  become  exceedingly  dangerous. 
The  Sioux,  who  had  been  badly  disposed,  had  broken  out  into 
open  hostility,  and  in  the  preceding  autumn  his  party  had  en- 
countered them  in  a  severe  engagement,  in  which  a  number 
of  lives  had  been  lost  on  both  sides.  United  with  the  Che- 
yenne and  Gros  Ventre  Indians,  they  were  scouring  the  upper 
country  in  war  parties  of  great  force,  and  were  at  this  time  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Red  Suites,  a  famous  landmark,  which 
was  directly  in  our  path.  They  had  declared  war  upon  every 
living  thing  that  should  be  found  westward  of  that  point; 
though  their  main  object  was  to  attack  a  large  camp  of  whites 
and  Snake  Indians,  who  had  a  rendezvous  in  the  Sweet  Water 
valley.  Availing  himself  of  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the 


62  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

country,  he  had  reached  Laramie  by  an  unusual  route  through 
the  Black  hills,  and  avoided  coming  into  contact  with  any  of 
the  scattered  parties.  This  gentleman  offered  his  services  to 
accompany  us  as  far  as  the  head  of  the  Sweet  Water ;  but  the 
absence  of  our  leader,  which  was  deeply  regretted  by  us  all, 
rendered  it  impossible  for  us  to  enter  upon  such  arrangements. 
In  a  camp  consisting  of  men  whose  lives  had  been  spent  in 
this  country,  I  expected  to  find  every  one  prepared  for  occur- 
rences of  this  nature ;  but,  to  my  great  surprise,  I  found,  on 
the  contrary,  that  this  news  had  thrown  them  all  into  the  great- 
est consternation ;  and,  on  every  side,  I  heard  only  one  excla- 
mation, lll  n'y  aura  pas  de  vie  pour  nous.9  All  the  night, 
scattered  groups  were  assembled  around  the  fires,  smoking 
their  pipes,  and  listening  with  the  greatest  eagerness  to  exag- 
gerated details  of  Indian  hostilities  ;  and  in  the  morning  I  found 
the  camp  dispirited,  and  agitated  by  a  variety  of  conflicting 
opinions.  A  majority  of  the  people  were  strongly  disposed  to 
return ;  but  Clement  Lambert,  with  some  five  or  six  others, 
professed  their  determination  to  follow  Mr.  Fremont  to  the  ut- 
termost limit  of  his  journey.  The  others  yielded  to  their  re- 
monstrances, and  somewhat  ashamed  of  their  cowardice,  con 
eluded  to  advance  at  least  as  far  as  Laramie  fork,  eastward  of 
which  they  were  aware  no  danger  was  to  be  apprehended. 
Notwithstanding  the  confusion  and  excitement,  we  were  very 
early  on  the  road,  as  the  days  were  extremely  hot,  and  we 
were  anxious  to  profit  by  the  freshness  of  the  morning.  The 
soft  marly  formation,  over  which  we  were  now  journeying, 
frequently  offers  to  the  traveler  views  of  remarkable  and  pic- 
turesque beauty.  To  several  of  these  localities,  where  the 
winds  and  the  rain  have  worked  the  bluffs  into  curious  shapes, 
the  voyageurs  have  given  names  according  to  some  fancied 
resemblance.  One  of  these,  called  the  Court-house,  we  passed 
about  six  miles  from  -our  encampment  of  last  night,  and  towards 
noon  came  in  sight  of  the  celebrated  Chimney  rock.  It  looks, 
at  this  distance  of  about  thirty  miles,  like  what  it  is  called — 
the  long  chimney  of  a  steam  factory  establishment,  or  a  shot 
tower  in  Baltimore.  Nothing  occurred  to  interrupt  the  quiet 
of  the  day,  and  we  encamped  on  the  river,  after  a  march  of 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  53 

twenty-four  miles.  Buffalo  had  become  very  scarce,  and  but 
one  cow  had  been  killed,  of  which  the  meat  had  been  cut  into 
thin  slices,  and  hung  around  the  carts  to  dry. 

"  10th. — We  continued  along  the  same  fine  plainly  beaten 
road,  which  the  smooth  surface  of  the  country  afforded  us,  for 
a  distance  of  six  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  from  the  frontiers 
of  Missouri  to  the  Laramie  fork.  In  the  course  of  the  day  we 
met  some  whites,  who  were  following  along  in  the  train  of  Mr. 
Bridger  ;  and,  after  a  day's  journey  of  twenty-four  miles,  en- 
camped about  sunset  at  the  Chimney  rock.  It  consists  of  marl 
and  earthy  limestone,  and  the  weather  is  rapidly  diminishing 
its  height,  which  is  not  more  than  two  hundred  feet  above  the 
river.  Travelers  who  visited  it  some  years  since,  placed  its 
height  at  upwards  of  500  feet. 

"llth. — The  valley  of  the  North  fork  is  of  a  variable 
breadth,  from  one  to  four,  and  sometimes  six  miles.  Fifteen 
miles  from  the  Chimney  rock  we  reached  one  of  those  places 
where  the  river  strikes  the  bluffs,  and  forces  the  road  to  make 
a  considerable  circuit  over  the  uplands.  This  presented  an 
escarpment  on  the  river  of  about  nine  hundred  yards  in  length, 
and  is  familiarly  known  as  Scott's  bluffs.  We  had  made  a 
journey  of  thirty  miles  before  we  again  struck  the  river,  at  a 
place  where  some  scanty  grass  afforded  an  insufficient  pas- 
turage to  our  animals.  About  twenty  miles  from  the  Chimney 
rock  we  had  found  a  very  beautiful  spring  of  excellent  and 
cold  water ;  but  it  was  in  such  a  deep  ravine,  and  so  small, 
that  the  animals  could  not  profit  by  it,  and  we  therefore  halted 
only  a  few  minutes,  and  found  a  resting-place  ten  miles  fur- 
ther on.  The  plain  between  Scott's  bluffs  and  Chimney  rock 
was  almost  entirely  covered  with  drift-wood,  consisting  princi- 
pally of  cedar,  which,  we  were  informed,  had  been  supplied 
from  the  Black  hills,  in  a  flood  five  or  six  years  since. 

"  12th. — Nine  miles  from  our  encampment  of  yesterday  we 
crossed  Horse  creek,  a  shallow  stream  of  clear  water,  about 
seventy  yards  wide,  falling  into  the  Platte  on  the  right  bank. 
It  was  lightly  timbered,  and  great  quantities  of  drift-wood  were 
piled  up  on  the  banks,  appearing  to  be  supplied  by  the  creek 
from  above.  After  a  journey  of  twenty-six  miles,  we  encamped 


54  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JuLT, 

on  a  rich  bottom,  which  afforded  fine  grass  to  our  animals 
Buffalo  have  entirely  disappeared,  and  we  live  now  upon  the 
dried  meat,  which  is  exceedingly  poor  food.  The  marl  and 
earthy  limestone,  which  constituted  the  formation  for  several 
days  past,  had  changed,  during  the  day,  into  a  compact  white 
or  grayish- white  limestone,  sometimes  containing  hornstone  ; 
and  at  the  place  of  our  encampment  this  evening,  some  strata 
in  the  river  hills  cropped  out  to  the  height  of  thirty  or  forty 
feet,  consisting  of  fine-grained  granitic  sandstone  ;  one  of  the 
strata  closely  resembling  gneiss. 

"  13th. — To-day,  about  four  o'clock,  we  reached  Fort  La- 
ramie,  where  we  were  cordially  received.  We  pitched  our 
camp  a  little  above  the  fort,  on  the  bank  of  the  Laramie  river, 
in  which  the  pure  and  clear  water  of  the  mountain  stream 
looked  refreshingly  cool,  and  made  a  pleasant  contrast  to  the 
muddy,  yellow  waters  of  the  Platte." 

I  walked  up  to  visit  our  friends  at  the  fort,  which  is  a  quad- 
rangular structure,  built  of  clay,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Mexi- 
cans, who  are  generally  employed  in  building  them.  The 
walls  are  about  fifteen  feet  high,  surmounted  with  a  wooden 
palisade,  and  form  a  portion  of  ranges  of  houses,  which  entire- 
ly surround  a  yard  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet 
square.  Every  apartment  has  its  door  and  window, — all,  of 
course,  opening  on  the  inside.  There  are  two  entrances,  op- 
posite each  other,  and  midway  the  wall,  one  of  which  is  a 
large  and  public  entrance  ;  the  other  smaller  and  more  pri- 
vate— a  sort  of  postern  gate.  Over  the  great  entrance  is  a 
square  tower  with  loopholes,  and,  like  the  rest  of  the  work, 
built  of  earth.  At  two  of  the  angles,  and  diagonally  opposite 
each  other,  are  large  square  bastions,  so  arranged  as  to  sweep 
the  four  faces  of  the  walls. 

This  post  belongs  to  the  American  Fur  Company,  and,  at 
the  time  of  our  visit,  was  in  charge  of  Mr.  Boudeau.  Two  of 
the  company's  clerks,  Messrs.  Galpin  and  Kellogg,  were  with 
him,  and  he  had  in  the  fort  about  sixteen  men.  As  usual, 
these  had  found  wives  among  the  Indian  squaws  ;  and,  with 
the  usual  accompaniment  of  children,  the  place  had  quite  a 
populous  appearance.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  55 

object  of  the  establishment  is  trade  with  the  neighboring  tribes, 
who,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  generally  make  two  or  three 
visits  to  the  fort.  In  addition  to  this,  traders,  with  a  small 
outfit,  are  constantly  kept  amongst  them.  The  articles  of 
trade  consist,  on  the  one  side,  almost  entirely  of  buffalo  robes  ; 
and,  on  the  other,  of  blankets,  calicoes,  guns,  powder  and  lead, 
with  such  cheap  ornaments  as  glass  beads,  looking-glasses, 
rings,  vermilion  for  painting,  tobacco,  and  principally,  and  in 
spite  of  the  prohibition,  of  spirits,  brought  into  the  country  in 
the  form  of  alcohol,  and  diluted  with  water  before  sold.  While 
mentioning  this  fact,  it  is  but  justice  to  the  American  Fur 
Company  to  state,  that,  throughout  the  country,  I  have  always 
found  them  strenuously  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  spiritu- 
ous liquors.  But  in  the  present  state  of  things,  when  the 
country  is  supplied  with  alcohol — when  a  keg  of  it  will  pur- 
chase from  an  Indian  every  thing  he  possesses — his  furs,  his 
lodge,  his  horses,  and  even  his  wife  and  children — and  when 
any  vagabond  who  has  money  enough  to  purchase  a  mule  can 
go  into  a  village  and  trade  against  them  successfully,  without 
withdrawing  entirely  from  the  trade,  it  is  impossible  for  them 
to  discontinue  its  use.  In  their  opposition  to  this  practice,  the 
company  is  sustained,  not  only  by.  their  obligation  to  the  laws 
of  the  country  and  the  welfare  of  the  Indians,  but  clearly,  also, 
on  grounds  of  policy  ;  for,  with  heavy  and  expensive  outfits, 
they  contend  at  manifestly  great  disadvantage  against  the  nu- 
merous independent  and  unlicensed  traders,  who  enter  the 
country  from  various  avenues,  from  the  United  States  and 
from  Mexico,  having  no  other  stock  in  trade  than  some  kegs  of 
liquor,  which  they  sell  at  the  modest  price  of  thirty-six  dollars 
per  gallon.  The  difference  between  the  regular  trader  and 
the  coureur  des  bois,  (as  the  French  call  the  itinerant  or  ped- 
dling traders,)  with  respect  to  the  sale  of  spirits,  is  here,  as  it 
always  has  been,  fixed  and  permanent,  and  growing  out  of  the 
nature  of  their  trade.  The  regular  trader  looks  ahead,  and 
has  an  interest  in  the  preservation  of  the  Indians,  and  in  the 
regular  pursuit  of  their  business,  and  the  preservation  of  their 
arms,  horses,  and  every  thing  necessary  to  their  future  and 
permanent  success  in  hunting :  the  coureur  des  bois  has  no 


56  CAPT.    FREMONTrS    NARRATIVE.  [JtTLT, 

permanent  interest,  and  gets  what  lie  can,  and  for  what  he  can, 
from  every  Indian  he  meets,  even  at  the  risk  of  disabling  him 
from  doing  any  thing  more  at  hunting. 

The  fort  had  a  very  cool  and  clean  appearance.  The  great 
entrance,  in  which  I  found  the  gentlemen  assembled,  and  which 
was  floored,  and  about  fifteen  feet  long,  made  a  pleasant, 
shaded  seat,  through  which  the  breeze  swept  constantly ;  for 
this  country  is  famous  for  high  winds.  In  the  course  of  the 
conversation,  I  learned  the  following  particulars,  which  will 
explain  the  condition  of  the  country.  For  several  years  the 
Cheyennes  and  Sioux  had  gradually  become  more  and  more 
hostile  to  the  whites,,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  184 1, 
had  had  a  rather  severe  engagement  with  a  part}  of  sixty  men, 
under  the  command  of  Mr.  Frapp  of  St.  Louis.  The  Indians 
lost  eight  or  ten  warriors,  and  the  whites  had  their  leader  and 
four  men  killed.  This  fight  took  place  on  the  waters  of  Snake 
river ;  and  it  was  this  party,  on  their  return  under  Mr.  Bridger, 
which  had  spread  so  much  alarm  among  my  people.  In  the 
course  of  the  spring,  two  other  small  parties  had  been  cut  ofF 
by  the  Sioux— one  on  their  return  from  the  Crow  nation,  and 
the  other  among  the  Black  hills.  The  emigrants  to  Oregon 
and  Mr.  Bridger's  party  met  here,  a  few  days  before  our  arri- 
val. Divisions  and  misunderstandings  had  grown  up  among 
them ;  they  were  already  somewhat  disheartened  by  the  fa- 
tigue of  their  long  and  wearisome  journey,  and  the  feet  of  their 
cattle  had  become  so  much  worn  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to 
travel.  In  this  situation,  they  were  not  likely  to  find  encour- 
agement in  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Indians,  and  the  new  and 
unexpected  difficulties  which  sprang  up  before  them.  They 
were  told  that  the  country  was  entirely  swept  of  grass,  and  that 
few  or  no  buffalo  were  to  be  found  on  their  line  of  route  ;  and, 
with  their  weakened  animals,  it  would  be  impossible  for  them 
to  transport  their  heavy  wagons  over  the  mountains.  Under 
these  circumstances,  they  disposed  of  their  wagons  and  cattle 
at  the  forts ;  selling  them  at  the  prices  they  had  paid  in  the 
States,  and  taking  in  exchange  coffee  and  sugar  at  one  dollar 
a  pound,  and  miserable  worn-out  horses,  which  died  before 
they  reached  the  mountains.  Mr.  Boudeau  informed  me  that 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  57 

he  had  purchased  thirty,  and  the  lower  fort  eighty  head  of  fine 
cattle,  some  of  them  of  the  Durham  breed.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick, 
whose  name  and  high  reputation  are  familiar  to  all  who  inter- 
est themselves  in  the  history  of  this  country,  had  reached  La- 
ramie  in  company  with  Mr.  Bridger ;  and  the  emigrants  were 
fortunate  enough  to  obtain  his  services  to  guide  them  as  far  as 
the  British  post  of  Fort  Hall,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
beyond  the  South  Pass  of  the  mountains.  They  had  started 
for  this  post  on  the  4th  of  July,  and  immediately  after  their  de- 
parture, a  war  party  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  braves  set  out 
upon  their  trail.  As  their  principal  chief  or  partisan  had  lost 
some  relations  in  the  recent  fight,  and  had  sworn  to  kill  the 
first  whites  on  his  path,  it  was  supposed  that  their  intention 
was  to  attack  the  party,  should  a  favorable  opportunity  offer ; 
or,  if  they  were  foiled  in  their  principal  object  by  the  vigilance 
of  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  content  themselves  with  stealing  horses  and 
cutting  off  stragglers.  These  had  been  gone  but  a  few  days 
previous  to  our  arrival. 

The  effect  of  the  engagement  with  Mr.  Frapp  had  been 
greatly  to  irritate  the  hostile  spirit  of  the  savages ;  and  imme- 
diately subsequent  to  that  event,  the  Gross  Ventre  Indians  had 
united  with  the  Oglallahs  and  Cheyennes,  and  taken  the  field 
in  great  force — so  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  to  the  amount  of 
eight  hundred  lodges.  Their  object  was  to  make  an  attack  on 
a  camp  of  Snake  and  Crow  Indians,  and  a  body  of  about  one 
hundred  whites,  who  had  made  a  rendezvous  somewhere  in  the 
Green  river  valley,  or  on  the  Sweet  Water.  After  spending 
some  time  in  buffalo  hunting  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Medi- 
cine Bow  mountain,  they  were  to  cross  over  to  the  Green  river 
waters,  and  return  to  Laramie  by  way  of  the  South  Pass  and 
the  Sweet  Water  valley.  According  to  the  calculation  of  the 
Indians,  Mr.  Boudeau  informed  me  they  were  somewhere  near 
the  head  of  the  Sweet  Water.  I  subsequently  learned  that  the 
party  led  by  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  were  overtaken  by  their  pursuers 
near  Rock  Independence,  in  the  valley  of  the  Sweet  Water ; 
but  his  skill  and  resolution  saved  them  from  surprise;  and, 
email  as  his  force  was,  they  did  not  venture  to  attack  him  open- 
ly. Here  they  lost  one  of  their  party  by  an  accident,  and, 
3* 


58  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

continuing  up  the  valley,  they  came  suddenly  upon  the  large 
village.  From  these  they  met  with  a  doubtful  reception.  Long 
residence  and  familiar  acquaintance  had  given  to  Mr.  Fitzpat- 
rick  great  personal  influence  among  them,  and  a  portion  of 
them  were  disposed  to  let  him  pass  quietly ;  but  by  far  the 
greater  number  were  inclined  to  hostile  measures ;  and  the 
chiefs  spent  the  whole  of  one  night,  during  which  they  kept  the" 
little  party  in  the  midst  of  them,  in  council,  debating  the  ques- 
tion of  attacking  them  the  next  day  ;  but  the  influence  of  "  the 
Broken  Hand,"  as  they  called  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  (one  of  his 
hands  having  been  shattered  by  the  bursting  of  a  gun,)  at 
length  prevailed,  and  obtained  for  them  an  unmolested  pass- 
age ;  but  they  sternly  assured  him  that  this  path  was  no  longer 
open,  and  that  any  party  of  the  whites  which  should  hereafter 
be  found  upon  it  would  meet  with  certain  destruction.  From 
all  that  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
emigrants  owe  their  lives  to  Mr.  Fitzpatrick. 

Thus  it  would  appear  that  the  country  was  swarming  with 
scattered  war  parties  ;  and  when  I  heard,  during  the  day,  the 
various  contradictory  and  exaggerated  rumors  which  were  in- 
cessantly repeated  to  them,  I  was  not  surprised  that  so  much 
alarm  prevailed  among  my  men.  Carson,  one  of  the  best  and 
most  experienced  mountaineers,  fully  supported  the  opinion 
given  by  Bridger  of  the  dangerous  state  of  the  country,  and 
openly  expressed  his  conviction  that  we  could  not  escape  with- 
out some  sharp  encounters  with  the  Indians.  In  addition  to 
this,  he  made  his  will  ;  and  among  the  circumstances  which 
were  constantly  occurring  to  increase  their  alarm,  this  was  the 
most  unfortunate  ;  and  I  found  that  a  number  of  my  party  had 
become  so  much  intimidated,  that  they  had  requested  to  be 
discharged  at  this  place.  I  dined  to-day  at  Fort  Platte,  which 
has  been  mentioned  as  situated  at  the  junction  of  Laramie  river 
with  the  Nebraska.  Here  I  heard  a  confirmation  of  the  state- 
ments given  above.  The  party  of  warriors,  which  had  started 
a  few  days  since  on  the  trail  of  the  emigrants,  was  expected 
back  in  fourteen  days,  to  join  the  village  with  which  their  fam- 
ilies and  the  old  men  had  remained.  The  arrival  of  the  latter 
was  hourly  expected ;  and  some  Indians  have  just  come  in  who 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  59 

had  left  them  on  the  Laramie  fork,  about  twenty  miles  above. 
Mr.  Bissonette,  one  of  the  traders  belonging  to  Fort  Platte, 
urged  the  propriety  of  taking  with  me  an  interpreter  and  two 
or  three  old  men  of  the  village ;  in  which  case,  he  thought 
there  would  be  little  or  no  hazard  in  encountering  any  of  the 
war  parties.  The  principal  danger  was  in  being  attacked  be- 
fore they  should  know  who  we  were. 

They  had  a  confused  idea  of  the  numbers  and  power  of  our 
people,  and  dreaded  to  bring  upon  themselves  the  military  force 
of  the  United  States.  This  gentleman,  who  spoke  the  lan- 
guage fluently,  offered  his  services  to  accompany  me  so  far  as 
the  Red  Buttes.  He  was  desirous  to  join  the  large  party  on 
its  return,  for  purposes  of  trade,  and  it  would  suit  his  views,  as 
well  as  my  own,  to  go  with  us  to  the  Buttes ;  beyond  which 
point  it  would  be  impossible  to  prevail  on  a  Sioux  to  venture, 
on  account  of  their  fear  of  the  Crows.  From  Fort  Laramie  to 
the  Red  Buttes,  by  the  ordinary  road,  is  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  miles ;  and,  though  only  on  the  threshold  of  danger,  it 
seemed  better  to  secure  the  services  of  an  interpreter  for  the 
partial  distance,  than  to  have  none  at  all. 

So  far  as  frequent  interruption  from  the  Indians  would  allow, 
we  occupied  ourselves  in  making  some  astronomical  calcula- 
tions, and  bringing  the  general  map  to  this  stage  of  our  jour- 
ney ;  but  the  tent  was  generally  occupied  by  a  succession  of 
our  ceremonious  visiters.  Some  came  for  presents,  and  others 
for  information  of  our  object  in  coming  to  the  country ;  now 
and  then,  one  would  dart  up  to  the  tent  on  horseback,  jerk  off 
his  trappings,  and  stand  silently  at  the  door,  holding  his  horse 
by  the  halter,  signifying  his  desire  to  trade.  Occasionally  a 
savage  would  stalk  in  with  an  invitation  to  a  feast  of  honor,  a 
dog  feast,  and  deliberately  sit  down  and  wait  quietly  until  I 
was  ready  to  accompany  him.  I  went  to  one  ;  the  women 
and  children  were  sitting  outside  the  lodge,  and  we  took  our 
seats  on  buffalo  robes  spread  around.  The  dog  was  in  a  large 
pot  over  the  fire,  in  the  middle  of  the  lodge,  and  immediately 
on  our  arrival  was  dished  up  in  large  wooden  bowls,  one  of 
which  was  handed  to  each.  The  flesh  appeared  very  glutinous, 
with  something  of  the  flavor  and  appearance  of  mutton.  Feel- 


60  GAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE    '  [JULY, 

ing  something  move  behind  me,  I  looked  round,  and  found  tha 
I  had  taken  my  seat  among  a  litter  of  fat  young  puppies.  Had 
I  been  nice  in  such  matters,  the  prejudices  of  civilization  might 
have  interfered  with  my  tranquillity ;  but,  fortunately,  I  am 
not  of  delicate  nerves,  and  continued  quietly  to  empty  my 
platter. 

The  weather  was  cloudy  at  evening,  with  a  moderate  south 
wind,  and  the  thermometer  at  six  o'clock  85°.  I  was  disap- 
pointed in  my  hope  of  obtaining  an  observation  of  an  occultation, 
which  took  place  about  midnight.  The  moon  brought  with 
her  heavy  banks  of  clouds,  through  which  she  scarcely  made 
her  appearance  during  the  night. 

The  morning  of  the  18th  was  cloudy  and  calm,  the  thermom- 
eter at  six  o'clock  at  64°.  About  nine,  with  a  moderate  wind 
from  the  west,  a  storm  of  rain  came  on,  accompanied  by  sharp 
thunder  and  lightning,  which  lasted  about  an  hour.  During 
the  day  the  expected  village  arrived,  consisting  principally  of 
old  men,  women,  and  children.  They  had  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  horses,  and  large  troops  of  dogs.  Their  lodges  were 
pitched  near  the  fort,  and  our  camp  was  constantly  crowded 
with  Indians  of  all  sizes,  from  morning  until  night,  at  which 
time  some  of  the  soldiers  generally  came  to  drive  them  all  off 
to  the  village.  My  tent  was  the  only  place  which  they  re- 
spected. Here  only  came  the  chiefs  and  men  of  distinction, 
and  generally  one  of  them  remained  to  drive  away  the  women 
and  children.  The  numerous  strange  instruments,  applied  to 
still  stranger  uses,  excited  awe  and  admiration  among  them  ; 
and  those  which  I  used  in  talking  with  the  sun  and  stars  they 
looked  upon  with  especial  reverence,  as  mysterious  things  of 
"  great  medicine." 

Of  the  three  barometers  which  I  had  brought  with  me 
thus  far  successfully,  I  found  that  two  were  out  of  order, 
and  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  19th  in  repairing  them — 
an  operation  of  no  small  difficulty  in  the  midst  of  the  inces- 
sant interruptions  to  which  I  was  subjected.  We  had  the 
misfortune  to  break  here  a  large  thermometer,  graduated  to 
show  fifths  of  a  degree,  which  I  used  to  ascertain  the  tempera- 
ture of  boiling  water,  and  with  which  I  had  promised  myself 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  61 

some  interesting  experiments  in  the  mountains.  We  had  but 
one  remaining,  on  which  the  graduation  extended  sufficiently 
high ;  and  this  was  too  small  for  exact  observations.  During 
our  stay  here,  the  men  had  been  engaged  in  making  numerous 
repairs,  arranging  pack-saddles,  and  otherwise  preparing  for 
the  chance  of  a  rough  road  and  mountain  travel.  All  things 
of  this  nature  being  ready,  I  gathered  them  around  me  in  the 
evening,  and  told  them  that  "  I  had  determined  to  proceed  the 
next  day.  They  were  all  well  armed.  I  had  engaged  the 
services  of  Mr.  Bissonette  as  interpreter,  and  had  taken,  in  the 
circumstances,  every  possible  means  to  ensure  our  safety.  In 
the  rumors  we  had  heard,  I  believed  there  was  much  exagger- 
ation ;  that  they  were  men  accustomed  to  this  kind  of  life  and 
to  the  country ;  and  that  these  were  the  dangers  of  every-day 
occurrence,  and  to  be  expected  in  the  ordinary  course  of  their 
service.  They  had  heard  of  the  unsettled  condition  of  the 
country  before  leaving  St.  Louis,  and  therefore  could  not  make 
it  a  reason  for  breaking  their  engagements.  Still,  I  was  un- 
willing to  take  with  me,  on  a  service  of  some  certain  danger, 
men  on  whom  I  could  not  rely ;  and  I  had  understood  that 
there  were  among  them  some  who  were  disposed  to  cowardice, 
and  anxious  to  return  ;  they  had  but  to  come  forward  at  onco, 
and  state  their  desire,  and  they  would  be  discharged,  with  the 
amount  due  to  them  for  the  time  they  had  served."  To  their 
honor  be  it  said,  there  was  but  one  among  them  who  had  the 
face  to  come  forward  and  avail  himself  of  the  permission.  I 
asked  him  some  few  questions,  in  order  to  expose  him  to  the 
ridicule  of  the  men,  and  let  him  go.  The  day  after  our  de 
parture,  he  engaged  himself  to  one  of  the  forts,  and  set  off  with 
a  party  to  the  Upper  Missouri.  I  did  not  think  that  the  situa- 
tion of  the  country  justified  me  in  taking  our  young  compan- 
ions, Messrs.  Brant  and  Benton,  along  with  us.  In  case  of 
misfortune,  it  would  have  been  thought,  at  the  least,  an  act  of 
great  imprudence  ;  and  therefore,  though  reluctantly,  I  deter- 
mined to  leave  them.  Randolph  had  been  the  life  of  the  camp, 
and  the  "petit  garpon"  was  much  regretted  by  the  men,  to 
whom  his  buoyant  spirits  had  afforded  great  amusement. 
They  all,  however,  agreed  in  the  propriety  of  leaving  him  at 


62  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY. 

the  fort,  because,  as  they  said,  he  might  cost  the  lives  of  some 
of  the  men  in  a  fight  with  the  Indians. 

2lst. — A  portion  of  our  baggage,  with  our  field-notes  and 
observations,  and  several  instruments,  were  left  at  the  fort. 
One  of  the  gentlemen,  Mr.  Galpin,  took  charge  of  a  barometer, 
which  he  engaged  to  observe  during  my  absence ;  and  I  in 
trusted  to  Randolph,  by  way  of  occupation,  the  regular  wind 
ing  up  of  two  of  my  chronometers,  which  were  among  the  in- 
struments left.  Our  observations  showed  that  the  chronometer 
which  I  retained  for  the  continuation  of  our  voyage  had  pre- 
served its  rate  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner.  As  deduced 
from  it,  the  longitude  of  Fort  Laramie  is  7h  Ol/  21",  and  from 
lunar  distance  7h  01'  29" ;  giving  for  the  adopted  longitude 
104°  47'  43".  Comparing  the  barometrical  observations  made 
during  our  stay  here,  with  those  of  Dr.  G.  Engleman  at  St 
Louis,  we  find  for  the  elevation  of  the  fort  above  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  4,470  feet.  The  winter  climate  here  is  remarkably 
mild  for  the  latitude ;  but  rainy  weather  is  frequent,  and  the 
place  is  celebrated  for  winds,  of  which  the  prevailing  one  is  the 
.  west.  An  east  wind  in  summer,  and  a  south  wind  in  winter, 
are  said  to  be  always  accompanied  with  rain. 

We  were  ready  to  depart ;  the  tents  were  struck,  the  mules 
geared  up,  and  our  horses  saddled,  and  we  walked  up  to  the 
fort  to  take  the  stirrup  cup  with  our  friends  in  an  excellent 
home-brewed  preparation.  While  thus  pleasantly  engaged, 
seated  in  one  of  the  little  cool  chambers,  at  the  door  of  whic£ 
a  man  had  been  stationed  to  prevent  all  intrusion  from  the  In 
dians,  a  number  of  chiefs,  several  of  them  powerful,  fine-looking 
men,  forced  their  way  into  the  room  in  spite  of  all  opposition. 
Handing  me  the  following  letter,  they  took  their  seats  in  si- 
lence : — 

"  FORT  PLATTE,  Juillet  21,  1842. 

"  MR.  FREMONT  : — "Lea  chefs  s'etant  assembles  pre'sentement  me  disent 
de  vous  avertir  de  ne  point  vous  mettre  en  route,  avant  quo  le  parti  de 
jeunes  gens,  qui  est  en  dehors,  soient  de  retour.  De  plus,  ils  me  disent  qu'il» 
sont  tres-certains  qu'ils  feront  feu  a  la  premiere  rencontre.  Ils  doivent  6tre 
de  retour  dans  sept  a  huit  jours.  Excusez  si  je  vous  fais  ces  observations, 
mais  il  me  semblo  qu'il  est  mon  devoir  tie  vous  avertir  du  danger.  M6me 


If  12.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  63 

de  plus,  les  chefs  sont  les  porteurs  de  ce  billet,  qui  vous  defendent  de  partir 
avant  le  retour  des  guerriers. 

"  Je  suis  votre  obelssant  serviteur, 

"JOSEPH  BISSONETTE, 

"  Par  L.  B.  CHARTRAIN. 

"  Les  noms  de  quelques  chefs. — Le  Chapeau  de  Loutre,  le  Casseur  de 
Fleches,  la  Nuit  Noir  la  Queue  de  Bo2uf." 

[Translation.] 

"  FORT  PLATTE,  July  21,  1842. 

"  MR.  FREMONT: — The  chiefs  having  assembled  in  council,  have  just  told 
me  to  warn  you  not  to  set  out  before  the  party  of  young  men  which  is  now 
out  shall  have  returned.  Furthermore,  they  tell  me  that  they  are  very  sure 
they  will  fire  upon  you  as  soon  as  they  meet  you.  They  are  expected  back 
in  seven  or  eight  days.  Excuse  me  for  making  these  observations,  but  it 
seems  my  duty  to  warn  you  of  danger.  Moreover,  the  chiefs  who  prohibit 
your  setting  out  before  the  return  of  the  warriors  are  the  bearers  of  this  note 
"  I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

"JOSEPH  BISSONETTE, 

«  By  L.  B.  CHARTRAIN. 

"  Names  of  some  of  the  chiefs.— The  Otter  Hat,  the  Breaker  of  Arrows, 
the  Black  Night,  the  Bull's  Tail." 

After  reading  this,  I  mentioned  its  purport  to  my  compan- 
ions ;  and,  seeing  that  all  were  fully  possessed  of  its  contents, 
one  of  the  Indians  rose  up,  and,  having  first  shaken  hands  with 
me,  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  You  have  come  among  us  at  a  bad  time.  Some  of  our 
people  have  been  killed,  and  our  young  men,  who  are  gone  to 
the  mountains,  are  eager  to  avenge  the  blood  of  their  relations, 
which  has  been  shed  by  the  whites.  Our  young  men  are  bad, 
and,  if  they  meet  you,  they  will  believe  that  you  are  carrying 
goods  and  ammunition  to  their  enemies,  and  will  fire  upon 
you.  You  have  told  us  that  this  will  make  war.  We  know 
that  our  great  father  has  many  soldiers  and  big  guns,  and  we 
are  anxious  to  have  our  lives.  We  love  the  whites,  and  are 
desirous  of  peace.  Thinking  of  all  these  things,  we  have  de- 
termined to  keep  you  here  until  our  warriors  return.  We  are 
glad  to  see  you  among  us.  Our  father  is  rich,  and  we  expect- 
ed that  you  would  have  brought  presents  to  us — horses,  guns, 


64  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

and  blankets.  But  we  are  glad  to  see  you.  We  look  upon 
your  coming  as  the  light  which  goes  before  the  sun  ;  for  you 
will  tell  our  great  father  that  you  have  seen  us,  and  that  we 
are  naked  and  poor,  and  have  nothing  to  eat ;  and  he  will  send 
us  all  these  things."  He  was  followed  by  others  to  the  same 
effect. 

The  observations  of  the  savage  appeared  reasonable  ;  but  I 
was  aware  that  they  had  in  view  only  the  present  object  of  de- 
taining me,  and  were  unwilling  I  should  go  further  into  the 
country.  In  reply,  I  asked  them,  through  the  interpretation 
of  Mr.  Boudeau,  to  select  two  or  three  of  their  number  to  ac- 
company us  until  we  should  meet  their  people — they  should 
spread  their  robes  in  my  tent,  and  eat  at  my  table,  and  on  their 
return  I  would  give  them  presents  in  reward  of  their  services. 
They  declined,  saying,  that  there  were  no  young  men  left  in 
the  village,  and  that  they  were  too  old  to  travel  so  many  days 
on  horseback,  and  preferred  now  to  smoke  their  pipes  in  the 
lodge,  and  let  the  warriors  go  on  the  war-path.  Besides,  they 
had  no  power  over  the  young  men,  and  were  afraid  to  interfere 
with  them.  In  my  turn  I  addressed  them. 

"  You  say  that  you  love  the  whites  ;  why  have  you  killed 
so  many  already  this  spring  ?  You  say  that  you  love  the 
whites,  and  are  full  of  many  expressions  of  friendship  to  us ; 
but  you  are  not  willing  to  undergo  the  fatigue  of  a  few  days* 
ride  to  save  our  lives.  We  do  not  believe  what  you  have 
said,  and  will  not  listen  to  you.  Whatever  a  chief  among  Uo 
tells  his  soldiers  to  do,  is  done.  We  are  the  soldiers  of  the 
great  chief,  your  father.  He  has  told  us  to  come  here  and  see 
this  country,  and  all  the  Indians,  his  children.  Why  should 
we  not  go  ?  Before  we  came,  we  heard  that  you  had  killed 
his  people,  and  ceased  to  be  his  children  ;  but  we  came  among 
you  peaceably,  holding  out  our  hands.  Now  we  find  that  the 
stories  we  heard  are  not  lies,  and  that  you  are  no  longer  his 
friends  and  children.  We  have  thrown  away  our  bodies,  and 
will  not  turn  back.  When  you  told  us  that  your  young  men 
would  kill  us,  you  did  not  know  that  our  hearts  were  strong, 
and  you  did  not  see  the  rifles  which  my  young  men  carry  in 
their  hands.  We  are  few,  and  you  are  many,  and  may  kill 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  65 

us  all ;  but  there  will  be  much  crying  in  your  villages,  for 
many  of  your  young  men  will  stay  behind,  and  forget  to  re- 
turn with  your  warriors  from  the  mountains.  Do  you  think 
'chat  our  great  chief  will  let  his  soldiers  die,  and  forget  to  cover 
their  graves  ?  Before  the  snows  melt  again,  his  warriors  will 
sweep  away  your  villages  as  the  fire  does  the  prairie  in  the 
autumn.  See  !  I  have  pulled  down  my  white  houses,  and  my 
people  are  ready  :  when  the  sun  is  ten  paces  higher,  we  shall 
be  on  the  march.  If  you  have  any  thing  to  tell  us,  you  will 
say  it  soon." 

I  broke  up  the  conference,  as  I  could  do  nothing  with  these 
people  ;  and,  being  resolved  to  proceed,  nothing  was  to  be 
gained  by  delay.  Accompanied  by  our  hospitable  friends,  we 
returned  to  the  camp.  We  had  mounted  our  horses,  and  our 
parting  salutations  had  been  exchanged,  when  one  of  the  chiefs 
(the  Bull's  Tail)  arrived  to  tell  me  that  they  had  determined 
to  send  a  young  man  with  us ;  and  if  I  would  point  out  the 
place  of  our  evening  camp,  he  should  join  us  there.  "  The 
young  man  is  poor,"  said  he  ;  "he  has  no  horse,  and  expects 
you  to  give  him  one."  I  described  to  him  the  place  where  I 
intended  to  encamp,  and,  shaking  hands,  in  a  few  minutes  we 
were  among  the  hills,  and  this  last  habitation  of  whites  shut 
out  from  our  view. 

The  road  led  over  an  interesting  plateau  between  the  North 
fork  of  the  Platte  on  the  right,  and  Laramie  river  on  the  left. 
At  the  distance  of  ten  miles  from  the  fort,  we  entered  the  sandy 
bed  of  a  creek,  a  kind  of  defile,  shaded  by  precipitous  rocks, 
down  which  we  wound  our  way  for  several  hundred  yards,  to 
a  place  where,  on  the  left  bank,  a  very  large  spring  gushes 
with  considerable  noise  and  force  out  of  the  limestone  rock. 
It  is  called  the  "  Warm  Spring,"  and  furnishes  to  the  hitherto 
dry  bed  of  the  creek  a  considerable  rivulet.  On  the  opposite  side, 
a  little  below  the  spring,  is  a  lofty  limestone  escarpment,  partially 
shaded  by  a  grove  of  large  trees,  whose  green  foliage,  in  con- 
trast with  the  whiteness  of  the  rock,  renders  this  a  picturesque 
locality.  The  rock  is  fossiliferous,  and,  so  far  as  I  was  able  to 
determine  the  character  of  the  fossils,  belongs  to  the  carbonif- 
erous limestone  of  the  Missouri  river,  and  is  probably  the  west- 


66  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

ern  limit  of  that  formation.  -  Beyond  this  point  I  met  with  no 
fossils  of  any  description. 

I  was  desirous  to  visit  the  Platte  near  the  point  where  it 
leaves  the  Black  hills,  and  therefore  followed  this  stream,  for 
two  or  three  miles,  to  its  mouth,  where  I  encamped  on  a  spot 
which  afforded  good  grass  and  prele  (equisetum)  for  our  ani- 
mals. Our  tents  having  been  found  too  thin  to  protect  our- 
selves  and  the  instruments  from  the  rains,  which  in  this  ele- 
vated country  are  attended  with  cold  and  unpleasant  weather, 
I  had  procured  from  the  Indians  at  Laramie  a  tolerably  large 
lodge,  about  eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  twenty  feet  in 
height.  Such  a  lodge,  when  properly  pitched,  is,  from  its 
conical  form,  almost  perfectly  secure  against  the  violent  winds 
which  are  frequent  in  this  region,  and,  with  a  fire  in  the  centre, 
is  a  dry  and  warm  shelter  in  bad  weather.  By  raising  the 
lower  part,  so  as  to  permit  the  breeze  to  pass  freely,  it  is  con- 
verted into  a  pleasant  summer  residence,  with  the  extraordina- 
ry advantage  o£  being  entirely  free  from  musquitoes,  one  of 
which  I  never  saw  in  an  Indian  lodge.  While  we  were  en- 
gaged very  unskilfully  in  erecting  this,  the  interpreter,  Mr. 
Bissonette,  arrived,  accompanied  by  the  Indian  and  his  wife. 
She  laughed  at  our  awkwardness,  and  offered  her  assistance, 
of  which  we  were  frequently  afterwards  obliged  to  avail  our 
selves,  before  the  men  acquired  sufficient  expertness  to  pitch 
it  without  difficulty.  From  this  place  we  had  a  fine  view  of 
the  gorge  where  the  Platte  issues  from  the  Black  hills,  changing 
its  character  abruptly  from  a  mountain  stream  into  a  river  of 
the  plains.  Immediately  around  us  the  valley  of  the  stream 
was  tolerably  open  ;  and  at  the  distance  of  a  few  rniles,  where 
the  river  had  cut  its  way  through  the  hills,  was  the  narrow 
cleft,  on  one  side  of  which  a  lofty  precipice  of  bright  red  rock 
rose  vertically  above  the  low  hills  which  lay  between  us. 

22d. — In  the  morning,  while  breakfast  was  being  prepared, 
I  visited  this  place  with  my  favorite  man,  Basil  Lajeunesse. 
Entering  so  far  as  there  was  footing  for  the  mules,  we  dis- 
mounted, and,  tying  our  animals,  continued  our  way  on  foot. 
Like  the  whole  country,  the  scenery  of  the  river  had  under- 
gone an  entire  change,  and  was  in  this  place  the  most  beautiful 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  67 

I  have  ever  seen.  The  breadth  of  the  stream,  generally  near 
that  of  its  valley,  was  from  two  to  three  hundred  feet,  with  a 
swift  current,  occasionally  broken  by  rapids,  and  the  water 
perfectly  clear.  On  either  side  rose  the  red  precipices,  and 
sometimes  overhanging,  two  and  four  hundred  feet  in  height, 
crowned  with  green  summits,  on  which  were  scattered  a  few 
pines.  At  the  foot  of  the  rocks  was  the  usual  detritus,  formed 
of  masses  fallen  from  above.  Among  the  pines  that  grew  here, 
and  on  the  occasional  banks,  were  the  cherry,  (cerasus  vir- 
giniana,)  currants,  and  grains  de  bceuf,  (shepherdia  argentea.) 
Viewed  in  the  sunshine  of  a  pleasant  morning,  the  scenery 
was  of  a  most  striking  and  romantic  beauty,  which  arose  from 
the  picturesque  disposition  of  the  objects,  and  the  vivid  con- 
trast  of  colors.  I  thought  with  much  pleasure  of  our  approach- 
ing descent  in  the  canoe  through  such  interesting  places  ;  and, 
in  the  expectation  of  being  able  at  that  time  to  give  to  them  a 
full  examination,  did  not  now  dwell  so  much  as  might  have  been 
desirable  upon  the  geological  formations  along  the  line  of  the 
river,  where  they  are  developed  with  great  clearness.  The 
upper  portion  of  the  red  strata  consists  of  very  compact  clay, 
in  which  are  occasionally  seen  imbedded  large  pebbles.  Be- 
low was  a  stratum  of  compact  red  sandstone,  changing  a  little 
above  the  river  into  a  very  hard  silicious  limestone.  There  is 
a  small  but  handsome  open  prairie  immediately  below  this  place, 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  which  would  be  a  good  locality  for 
a  military  post.  There  are  some  open  groves  of  cottonwood  on 
the  Platte.  The  small  stream  which  comes  in  at  this  place  is 
well  timbered  with  pine,  and  good  building  rock  is  abundant. 

If  it  is  in  contemplation  to  keep  open  the  communication 
with  Oregon  territory,  a  show  of  military  force  in  this  country 
is  absolutely  necessary  ;  and  a  combination  of  advantages  ren- 
ders the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Laramie  the  most  suitable  place, 
on  the  line  of  the  Platte,  for  the  establishment  of  a  military 
post.  It  is  connected  with  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  and  the 
Upper  Missouri  by  excellent  roads,  which  are  in  frequent  use, 
and  would  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  range  of  the  buf- 
falo, on  which  the  neighboring  Indians  mainly  depend  for  sup- 
port. It  would  render  any  posts  on  the  Lower  Platte  unneces. 


68  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

sary  ;  the  ordinary  communication  between  it  and  the  Missouri 
being  sufficient  to  control  the  intermediate  Indians.  It  would 
operate  effectually  to  prevent  any  such  coalitions  as  are  now 
formed  among  the  Gros  Ventres,  Sioux,  Cheyennes,  and  other 
Indians,  and  would  keep  the  Oregon  road  through  the  valley 
of  the  Sweet  Water  and  the  South  Pass  of  the  mountains  con- 
stantly open.  It  lies  at  the  foot  of  a  broken  and  mountainous 
region,  along  which,  by  the  establishment  of  small  posts  in  the 
neighborhood  of  St.  Vrain's  fort,  on  the  South  fork  of  the 
Platte,  and  Bent's  fort,  on  the  Arkansas,  a  line  of  communica- 
tion would  be  formed,  by  good  wagon-roads,  with  our  southern 
military  posts,  which  would  entirely  command  the  mountain 
passes,  hold  some  of  the  most  troublesome  tribes  in  check,  and 
protect  and  facilitate  our  intercourse  with  the  neighboring 
Spanish  settlements.  The  valleys  of  the  rivers  on  which  they 
would  be  situated  are  fertile ;.  the  country,  which  supports 
immense  herds  of  buffalo,  is  admirably  adapted  to  grazing; 
and  herds  of  cattle  might  be  maintained  by  the  posts,  or  obtained 
from  the  Spanish  country,  which  already  supplies  a  portion  of 
their  provisions  to  the  trading  posts  mentioned  above. 

Just  as  we  were  leaving  the  camp  this  morning,  our  Indian  came 
up,  and  stated  his  intention  of  not  proceeding  any  further  until 
he  had  seen  the  horse  which  I  intended  to  give  him.  I  felt 
strongly  tempted  to  drive  him  out  of  the  camp ;  but  his  pres- 
ence appeared  to  give  confidence  to  my  men,  and  the  interpreter 
thought  it  absolutely  necessary.  I  was  therefore  obliged  to  do 
what  he  requested,  and  pointed  out  the  animal,  with  which  he 
seemed  satisfied,  and  we  continued  our  journey.  I  had  ima- 
gined that  Mr.  Bissonette's  long  residence  had  made  him  ac- 
quainted with  the  country ;  and,  according  to  his  advice,  pro- 
ceeded directly  forward,  without  attempting  to  gain  the  usual 
road.  He  afterwards  informed  me  that  he  had  rarely  ever 
lost  sight  of  the  fort;  but  the  effect  of  the  mistake  was  to 
involve  us  for  a  day  or  two  among  the  hills,  where,  although 
we  lost  no  time,  we  encountered  an  exceedingly  rough  road. 

To  the  south,  along  our  line  of  march  to-day,  the  main  chain 
of  the  Black  or  Laramie  hills  rises  precipitously.  Time  did 
not  permit  me  to  visit  them ;  but,  from  comparative  informa- 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  69 

tion,  the  ridge  is  composed  of  the  coarse  sandstone  or  conglom- 
erate hereafter  described.  It  appears  to  enter  the  region  of 
clouds,  which  are  arrested  in  their  course,  and  lie  in  masses 
along  the  summits.  An  inverted  cone  of  black  cloud  (cumu- 
us)  rested  during  all  the  forenoon  on  the  lofty  peak  of  Lara- 
mie  mountain,  which  I  estimated  to  be  about  two  thousand 
feet  above  the  fort,  or  six  thousand  five  hundred  above 
the  sea.  We  halted  to  noon  on  the  Fourche  Amere,  so 
called  from  being  timbered  principally  with  the  Hard  amere, 
(a  species  of  poplar,)  with  which  the  valley  of  the  little  stream 
is  tolerably  well  wooded,  and  which,  with  large  expansive 
summits,  grows  to  the  height  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet. 

The  bed  of  the  creek  is  sand  and  gravel,  the  water  dispersed 
over  the  broad  bed  in  several  shallow  streams.  We  found 
here,  on  the  right  bank,  in  the  shade  of  the  trees,  a  fine  spring 
of  very  cold  water.  It  will  be  remarked  that  I  do  not  men- 
tion, in  this  portion  of  the  journey,  the  temperature  of  the  air, 
sand,  springs,  &c. — an  omission  which  will  be  explained  in 
the  course  of  the  narrative.  In  my  search  for  plants,  I  was 
well  rewarded  a.t  this  place. 

With  the  change  in  the  geological  formation  on  leaving  Fort 
Laramie,  the  whole  face  of  the  country  has  entirely  altered  its 
appearance.  Eastward  of  that  meridian,  the  principal  objects 
which  strike  the  eye  of  a  traveler  are  the  absence  of  timber, 
and  the  immense  expanse  of  prairie,  covered  with  the  verdure 
of  rich  grasses,  and  highly  adapted  for  pasturage.  Wherever 
they  are  not  disturbed  by  the  vicinity  of  man,  large  herds  of 
buffalo  give  animation  to  this  country.  Westward  of  Laramie 
river,  the  region  is  sandy,  and  apparently  sterile ;  and  the 
place  of  the  grass  is  usurped  by  the  artemisia  and  other  odorif- 
erous plants,  to  whose  growth  the  sandy  soil  and  dry  air  of  this 
elevated  region  seem  highly  favorable. 

One  of  the  prominent  characteristics  in  the  face  of  the  coun- 
try is  the  extraordinary  abundance  of  the  arlemisias.  They 
grow  everywhere — on  the  hills,  and  over  the  river  bottoms, 
in  tough,  twisted,  wiry  clumps ;  and,  wherever  the  beaten 
track  was  left,  they  rendered  the  progress  of  the  carts  rough 
and  slow.  As  the  country  increased  in  elevation  on  our  ad- 


70  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

vance  to  the  west,  they  increased  in  size ;  and  the  whole  air 
is  strongly  impregnated  and  saturated  with  the  odor  of  cam- 
phor and  spirits  of  turpentine  which  belongs  to  this  plant. 
This  climate  has  been  found  very  favorable  to  the  restoration 
of  health,  particularly  in  cases  of  consumption  ;  and  possibly 
the  respiration  of  air  so  highly  impregnated  with  aromatic 
plants  may  have  some  influence. 

Our  dried  meat  had  given  out,  and  we  began  to  be  in  want 
of  food  ;  but  one  of  the  hunters  killed  an  antelope  this  even- 
ing, which  afforded  some  relief,  although  it  did  not  go  far 
among  so  many  hungry  men.  At  eight  o'clock  at  night,  after 
a  march  of  twenty-seven  miles,  we  reached  our  proposed  en- 
campment on  the  Fer-a-Cheval,  or  Horse-shoe  creek.  Here 
we  found  good  grass,  with  a  great  quantity  ofprele,  which  fur- 
nished good  food  for  our  tired  animals.  This  creek  is  well 
timbered,  principally  with  Hard  amere,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  Deer  creek,  which  we  had  not  yet  reached,  is  the  largest  af- 
fluent of  the  right  bank  between  Laramie  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Sweet  Water. 

23d. — The  present  year  had  been  one  of  unparalleled  drought, 
and  throughout  the  country  the  water  had  been  almost  dried 
up.  By  availing  themselves  of  the  annual  rise,  the  traders 
had  invariably  succeeded  in  carrying  their  furs  to  the  Mis- 
souri ;  but  this  season,  as  has  already  been  mentioned,  on  both 
forks  of  the  Plalte  they  had  entirely  failed.  The  greater  num- 
ber of  the  springs,  and  many  of  the  streams,  which  made  halt- 
ing places  for  the  voyageurs,  had  been  dried  up.  Everywhere 
the  soil  looked  parched  and  burnt,  the  scanty  yellow  grass 
crisped  under  the  foot,  and  even  the  hardest  plants  were  de- 
stroyed by  want  of  moisture.  I  think  it  necessary  to  mention 
this  fact,  because  to  the  rapid  evaporation  in  such  an  elevated 
region,  nearly  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  almost  wholly 
unprotected  by  timber,  should  be  attributed  much  of  the  sterile 
appearance  of  the  country,  in  the  destruction  of  vegetation,  and 
the  numerous  saline  efflorescences  which  covered  the  ground. 
Such  I  afterwards  found  to  be  the  case. 

I  was  informed  that  the  roving  villages  of  Indians  and  trav- 
elers had  never  met  with  difficulty  in  finding  abundance  of 


1842  ]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  71 

grass  for  their  horses ;  and  now  it  was  after  great  search  that 
we  were  able  to  find  a  scanty  patch  of  grass  sufficient  to  keep 
them  from  sinking  ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two  they 
began  to  suffer  very  much.  We  found  none  to-day  at  noon  ; 
and,  in  the  course  of  our  search  on  the  Platte,  came  to  a  grove 
of  cotton  wood,  where  some  Indian  village  had  recently  en- 
camped. Boughs  of  the  cotton  wood  yet  green  covered  the 
ground,  which  the  Indians  had  cut  down  to  feed  their  horses 
upon.  It  is  only  in  the  winter  that  recourse  is  had  to  this  means 
of  sustaining  them ;  and  their  resort  to  it  at  this  time  was  a 
striking  evidence  of  the  state  of  the  country.  We  followed 
their  example,  and  turned  our  horses  into  a  grove  of  young 
poplars.  This  began  to  present  itself  as  a  very  serious  evil, 
for  on  our  animals  depended  altogether  the  further  prosecution 
of  our  journey. 

Shortly  after  we  had  left  this  place,  the  scouts  came  gallop- 
ing in  with  the  alarm  of  Indians.  We  turned  in  immediately 
towards  the  river,  which  here  had  a  steep,  high  bank,  where 
we  formed  with  the  carts  a  very  close  barricade,  resting  on 
the  river,  within  which  the  animals  were  strongly  hobbled  and 
picketed.  The  guns  were  discharged  and  reloaded,  and  men 
thrown  forward  under  cover  of  the  bank,  in  the  direction  by 
which  the  Indians  were  expected.  Our  interpreter,  who,  with 
the  Indian,  had  gone  to  meet  them,  came  in,  in  about  ten  min- 
utes, accompanied  by  two  Sioux.  They  looked  sulky,  and 
we  could  obtain  from  them  only  some  confused  information. 
We  learned  that  they  belonged  to  the  party  which  had  been  on 
the  trail  of  the  emigrants,  whom  they  had  overtaken  at  Rock 
Independence,  on  the  Sweet  Water.  Here  the  party  had  dis- 
agreed, and  came  nigh  fighting  among  themselves.  One  portion 
were  desirous  of  attacking  the  whites,  but  the  others  were  op- 
posed to  it ;  and  finally  they  had  broken  up  into  small  bands,  and 
dispersed  over  the  country.  The  greatest  portion  of  them  had 
gone  over  into  the  territory  of  the  Crows,  and  intended  to  re- 
turn by  way  of  the  Wind  River  valley,  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  fall  upon  some  small  parties  of  Crow  Indians.  The 
remainder  were  returning  down  the  Platte,  in  scattered  par- 
ties of  ten  and  twenty ;  "and  those  whom  we  had  encountered 


72  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

belonged  to  those  who  had  advocated  an  attack  on  the  emi- 
grants. Several  of  the  men  suggested  shooting  them  on  the 
spot ;  but  I  promptly  discountenanced  any  such  proceeding. 
They  further  informed  me  that  buffalo  were  very  scarce,  and 
little  or  no  grass  to  be  found.  There  had  been  no  rain,  and 
innumerable  quantities  of  grasshoppers  had  destroyed  the 
grass.  The  insects  had  been  so  numerous  since  leaving  Fort 
Laramie,  that  the  ground  seemed  alive  with  them ;  and  in 
walking,  a  little  moving  cloud  preceded  our  footsteps.  This 
was  bad  news.  No  grass,  no  buffalo— food  for  neither  horse 
nor  man.  I  gave  them  some  plugs  of  tobacco,  and  they  went 
off,  apparently  well  satisfied  to  be  clear  of  us ;  for  my  men 
did  not  look  upon  them  very  lovingly,  and  they  glanced  suspi- 
ciously at  our  warlike  preparations,  and  the  little  ring  of  rifles 
which  surrounded  them.  They  were  evidently  in  a  bad  hu- 
mor, and  shot  one  of  their  horses  when  they  had  left  us  a 
short  distance. 

We  continued  our  march,  and  after  a  journey  of  aboul 
twenty-one  miles,  encamped  on  the  Platte.  During  the  day, 
I  had  occasionally  remarked  among  the  hills  the  psoralea  escu- 
lenla,  the  bread  root  of  the  Indians.  The  Sioux  use  this  root 
very  extensively,  and  I  have  frequently  met  with  it  among 
them,  cut  into  thin  slices  and  dried.  In  the  course  of  the 
evening  we  were  visited  by  six  Indians,  who  told  us  that  a  large 
party  was  encamped  a  few  miles  above.  Astronomical  obser- 
vations placed  us  in  longitude  104°  59'  59",  and  latitude 
42°  29'  25". 

We  made  the  next  day  twenty-two  miles,  and  encamped  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Platte,  where  a  handsome  meadow  afford- 
ed tolerably  good  grass.  There  were  the  remains  of  an  old 
fort  here,  thrown  up  in  some  sudden  emergency,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  was  a  picturesque  bluff  of  ferruginous  sandstone. 
There  was  a  handsome  grove  a  little  above,  and  scattered 
groups  of  trees  bordered  the  river.  Buffalo  made  their  ap- 
pearance this  afternoon,  and  the  hunters  came  in,  shortly  after 
we  had  encamped,  with  three  fine  cows.  The  night  was  fine, 
and  observations  gave  for  the  latitude  of  the  camp,  42°  47'  40". 

25th. — We  made  but  thirteen  miles  this  day,  and  encamped 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  73 

about  noon  m  a  pleasant  grove  on  the  right  bank.  Low  scaf- 
folds were  erected,  upon  which  the  meat  was  laid,  cut  up  into 
thin  strips,  and  small  fires  kindled  below.  Our  object  was  to 
profit  by  the  vicinity  of  the  buffalo,  to  lay  in  a  stock  of  provi- 
sions for  ten  or  fifteen  days.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon 
me  hunters  brought  in  five  or  six  cows,  and  all  hands  were 
kept  busily  employed  in  preparing  the  meat,  to  the  drying  of 
which  the  guard  attended  during  the  night.  Our  people  had 
recovered  their  gayety,  and  the  busy  figures  around  the  bla- 
zing fires  gave  a  picturesque  air  to  the  camp.  A  very  serious 
accident  occurred  this  morning,  in  the  breaking  of  one  of  the 
barometers.  These  had  been  the  object  of  my  constant  solici- 
tude, and,  as  I  had  intended  them  principally  for  mountain 
service,  I  had  used  them  as  seldom  as  possible,  taking  them 
always  down  at  night,  and  on  the  occurrence  of  storms,  in  or- 
der to  lessen  the  chances  of  being  broken.  I  was  reduced  to 
one,  a  standard  barometer  of  Troughton's  construction.  This 
I  determined  to  preserve,  if  possible.  The  latitude  is  42°  51' 
35",  and  by  a  mean  of  the  results  from  chronometer  and 
lunar  distances,  the  adopted  longitude  of  this  camp  is  105° 
50'  45". 

26th. — Early  this  morning  we  were  again  in  motion.  We 
had  a  stock  of  provisions  for  fifteen  days  carefully  stored  away 
in  the  carts,  and  this  I  resolved  should  only  be  encroached 
upon  when  our  rifles  should  fail  to  procure  us  present  support. 
I  determined  to  reach  the  mountains,  if  it  were  in  any  way 
possible.  In  the  mean  time,  buffalo  were  plenty.  In  six 
miles  from  our  encampment  (which,  by  way  of  distinction,  we 
shall  call  Dried  Meat  camp)  we  crossed  a  handsome  stream, 
called  La  Fourche  Boisce.  It  is  well  timbered,  and,  among 
the  flowers  in  bloom  on  its  banks,  I  remarked  several  asters. 

Five  miles  further,  we  made  our  noon  halt  on  the  banks  of 
the  P'atte,  in  the  shade  of  some  cotton  woods.  There  were 
here,  as  generally  now  along  the  river,  thickets  of  hippopha, 
the  grains  de  boeuf  of  the  country.  They  were  of  two  kinds — 
one  bearing  a  red  berry,  (the  shepherdia  argentea  of  Nuttall ;) 
the  other  a  yellow  berry,  of  which  the  Tartars  are  said  to 
make  a  kind  of  rob. 

4 


74  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

By  a  meridian  observation,  the  latitude  of  the  place  was  42° 
50'  08".  It  was  my  daily  practice  to  take  observations  of  the 
sun's  meridian  altitude ;  and  why  they  are  not  given,  will  ap- 
pear in  the  sequel.  Eight  miles  further  we  reached  the  mouth 
of  Deer  creek,  where  we  encamped.  Here  was  abundance 
of  rich  grass,  and  our  animals  were  compensated  for  past  pri- 
vations. This  stream  was  at  this  time  twenty  feet  broad,  and 
well  timbered  with  cottonwood  of  an  uncommon  size.  It  is 
the  largest  tributary  of  the  Platte,  between  the  mouth  of  the 
Sweet  Water  and  the  Laramie.  Our  astronomical  observations 
gave  for  the  mouth  of  the  stream  a  longitude  of  106°  08'  24", 
and  latitude  42°  52'  24". 

27th. — Nothing  worthy  of  mention  occurred  on  this  day ;  we 
traveled  later  than  usual,  having  spent  some  time  searching  for 
grass,  crossing  and  recrossing  the  river  before  we  could  find 
a  sufficient  quantity  for  our  animals.  Towards  dusk  we  en- 
camped among  some  artemisia  bushes,  two  and  three  feet  in 
height,  where  some  scattered  patches  of  short  tough  grass  af- 
forded a  scanty  supply.  In  crossing,  we  had  occasion  to  ob- 
serve that  the  river  was  frequently  too  deep  to  be  forded, 
though  we  always  succeeded  in  finding  a  place  where  the  wa- 
ier  did  lot  enter  the  carts.  The  stream  continued  very  clear, 
with  two  or  three  hundred  feet  breadth  of  water,  and  the  sandy 
bed  and  banks  were  frequently  covered  with  large  round  peb- 
bles. We  had  traveled  this  day  twenty-seven  miles.  The 
main  chain  of  the  Black  hills  was  here  only  about  seven  miles 
to  the  south,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  rising  abruptly  to 
the  height  of  eight  and  twelve  hundred  feet.  Patches  of  greeii 
grass  in  the  ravines  on  the  steep  sides  marked  the  presence  of 
springs,  and  the  summits  were  clad  with  pines. 

28th. — In  two  miles  from  our  encampment,  we  reached  the 
place  where  the  regular  road  crosses  the  Platte.  There  was 
two  hundred  feet  breadth  of  water  at  this  time  in  the  bed, 
which  has  a  variable  width  of  eight  to  fifteen  hundred  feet. 
The  channels  were  generally  three  feet  deep,  and  there  were 
large  angular  rocks  on  the  bottom,  which  made  the  ford  in 
some  places  a  little  difficult.  Even  at  its  low  stages,  this  river 
cannot  be  crossed  at  random,  and  this  has  always  been  used 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  75 

as  the  best  ford.  The  low  stage  of  the  water  the  present  year 
had  made  it  fordable  in  almost  any  part  of  its  course,  where 
access  could  be  had  to  its  bed. 

For  the  satisfaction  of  travelers,  I  will  endeavor  to  give  some 
description  of  the  nature  of  the  road  from  Laramie  to  this 
point.  The  nature  of  the  soil  may  be  inferred  from  its  geo- 
logical formation.  The  limestone  at  the  eastern  limit  of  this 
section  is  succeeded  by  limestone  without  fossils,  a  great  va- 
riety of  sandstone,  consisting  principally  of  red  sandstone  and 
fire  conglomerates.  The  red  sand*  ne  is  argillaceous,  with 
.•ompact  white  gypsum  or  alabaster,  very  beautiful.  The 
other  sandstones  are  gray,  yellow,  and  ferruginous,  sometimes 
very  coarse.  The  apparent  sterility  of  the  country  must 
therefore  be  sought  for  in  other  causes  than  the  nature  of  the 
soil.  The  face  of  the  country  cannot  with  propriety  be  called 
hilly.  It  is  a  succession  of  long  ridges,  made  by  the  nu- 
merous streams  which  come  down  from  the  neighboring 
mountain  range.  The  ridges  have  an  undulating  surface, 
with  some  such  appearance  as  the  ocean  presents  in  an  ordi- 
nary breeze. 

The  road  which  is  now  generally  followed  through  this  re- 
crion  is  therefore  a  very  good  one,  without  any  difficult  ascents 
.o  overcome.  The  principal  obstructions  are  near  the  river, 
where  the  transient  waters  of  heavy  rains  have  made  deep  ra- 
vines with  steep  banks,  which  renders  frequent  circuits  neces- 
sary. It  will  be  remembered  that  wagons  pass  this  road  only 
once  or  twice  a  year,  which  is  by  no  means  sufficient  to  break 
down  the  stubborn  roots  of  the  innumerable  artemisia  bushes. 
A  partial  absence  of  these  is  often  the  only  indication  of  the 
track ;  and  the  roughness  produced  by  their  roots  in  many 
places  gives  the  road  the  character  of  one  newly  opened  in  a 
wooded  country.  This  is  usually  considered  the  worst  part  of 
the  road  east  of  the  mountains  ;  and,  as  it  passes  through  an 
open  prairie  region,  may  be  much  improved,  so  as  to  avoid  the 
greater  part  of  the  inequalities  it  now  presents. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  to  the  Green  River  valley, 
west  of  the  mountains,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  mountain 
road  on  the  line  of  communication. 


76  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JuLY 

We  continued  our  way,  and  four  miles  beyond  the  ford  In 
dians  were  discovered  again ;  and  I  halted  while  a  party  wer 
sent  forward  to  ascertain  who  they  were.  In  a  short  time  the\ 
returned,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  Indians  of  the  Oglallah 
band  of  Sioux.  From  them  we  received  some  interesting  in- 
formation. They  had  formed  part  of  the  great  village,  which 
they  informed  us  had  broken  up,  and  was  on  its  way  home. 
The  greater  part  of  the  village,  including  the  Arapahoes, 
Cheyennes,  and  Oglallahs,  had  crossed  the  Platte  eight  or  ten 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Sweet  Water,  and  were  now  be- 
hind the  mountains  to  the  south  of  us,  intending  to  regain  the 
Platte  by  way  of  Deer  creek.  They  had  taken  this  unusual 
route  in  search  of  grass  and  game.  They  gave  us  a  very 
discouraging  picture  of  the  country.  The  great  drought,  and 
the  plague  of  grasshoppers,  had  swept  it  so  that  scarce  a  blade 
of  grass  was  to  be  seen,  and  there  was  not  a  buffalo  to  be 
found  in  the  whole  region.  Their  people,  they  further  said, 
had  been  nearly  starved  to  death,  and  we  would  find  their  road 
marked  by  lodges,  which  they  had  thrown  away  in  order  to 
move  more  rapidly,  and  by  the  carcasses  of  the  horses  which 
they  had  eaten,  or  which  had  perished  by  starvation.  Such 
was  the  prospect  before  us. 

When  he  had  finished  the  interpretation  of  these  things,  Mr. 
Bissonette  immediately  rode  up  to  me,  and  urgently  advised 
that  I  should  entirely  abandon  the  further  prosecution  of  my 
exploration.  "  Le  meilleure  avis  que  je  pourrais  vous  donner 
c'est  de  virer  de  suite."  "  The  best  advice  I  can  give  you,  is 
to  turn  back  at  once."  It  was  his  own  intention  to  return,  as 
we  had  now  reached  the  point  to  which  he  had  engaged  to  at- 
tend me.  In  reply,  I  called  up  my  men,  and  communicated 
to  them  fully  the  information  I  had  just  received.  I  then  ex- 
pressed to  them  my  fixed  determination  to  proceed  to  the  end 
of  the  enterprise  on  which  I  had  been  sent ;  but  as  the  situa- 
tion of  the  country  gave  me  some  reason  to  apprehend  that  it 
might  be  attended  with  an  unfortunate  result  to  some  of  us,  I 
would  leave  it  optional  with  them  to  continue  with  me  or  to 
return. 

Among  them  were  some  five  or  six  who  I  knew  would  re- 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  77 

main.  We  had  still  ten  days'  provisions  ;  and  should  no  game 
be  found,  when  this  stock  was  expended,  we  had  our  horses 
and  mules,  which  we  could  eat  when  other  means  of  subsist- 
ence failed.  But  not  a  man  flinched  from  the  undertaking. 
"  We'll  eat  the  mules,"  said  Basil  Lajeunesse  ;  and  thereupon 
we  shook  hands  with  our  interpreter  and  his  Indians,  and 
parted.  With  them  I  sent  back  one  of  my  men,  Dumes,  whom 
the  effects  of  an  old  wound  in  the  leg  rendered  incapable  of 
continuing  the  journey  on  foot,  and  his  horse  seemed  on  the 
point  of  giving  out.  Having  resolved  to  disencumber  ourselves 
immediately  of  every  thing  not  absolutely  necessary  to  our  fu- 
ure  operations,  I  turned  directly  in  towards  the  river,  and 
encamped  on  the  left  bank,  a  little  above  the  place  where  our 
council  had  been  held,  and  where  a  thick  grove  of  willows 
offered  a  suitable  spot  for  the  object  I  had  in  view. 

The  carts  having  been  discharged,  the  covers  and  wheels 
were  taken  off,  and,  with  the  frames,  carried  into  some  low 
places,  among  the  willows,  and  concealed  in  the  dense  foliage  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  glitter  of  the  iron- work  might  not  attract 
the  observation  of  some  straggling  Indian.  In  the  sand,  which 
had  been  blown  up  into  waves  among  the  willows,  a  large  hole 
was  then  dug,  ten  feet  square  and  six  feet  deep.  In  the  mean 
time,  all  our  effects  had  been  spread  out  upon  the  ground,  and 
whatever  was  designed  to  be  carried  along  with  Us  separated 
and  laid  aside,  and  the  remaining  part  carried  to  the  hole  and 
carefully  covered  up.  As  much  as  possible,  all  traces  of  our 
proceedings  were  obliterated,  and  it  wanted  but  a  rain  to  ren- 
der our  cache  safe  beyond  discovery.  All  the  men  were 
now  set  at  work  to  arrange  the  pack-saddles  and  make  up  the 
packs. 

The  day  was  very  warm  and  calm,  and  the  sky  entirely 
clear,  except  where,  as  usual  along  the  summits  of  the  moun- 
tainous ridge  opposite,  the  clouds  had  congregated  in  masses. 
Our  lodge  had  been  planted,  and,  on  account  of  the  heat,  the 
ground-pins  had  been  taken  out,  and  the  lower  part  slightly 
raised.  Near  to  it  was  standing  the  barometer,  which  swung 
in  a  tripod  frame ;  and  within  the  lodge,  where  a  small  fire 
had  been  built,  Mr.  Preuss  was  occunied  in  ob«prvin 


78  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE,  [JULY 

temperature  of  boiling  water.  At  this  instant,  and  without 
any  warning  until  it  was  within  fifty  yards,  a  violent  gust  of 
wind  dashed  down  the  lodge,  burying  under  it  Mr.  Preuss  and 
about  a  dozen  men,  who  had  attempted  to  keep  it  from  being 
carried  away.  I  succeeded  in  saving  the  barometer,  which 
the  lodge  was  carrying  off  with  itself,  but  the  thermometer 
was  broken.  We  had  no  others  of  a  high  graduation,  none  0*" 
those  which  remained  going  higher  than  135°  Fahrenheit. 
Our  astronomical  observations  gave  to  this  place,  which  we 
named  Cache  camp,  a  longitude  of  106°  38'  26",  latitude  42° 
50'  53". 

29th. — All  our  arrangements  having  been  completed,  we 
left  the  encampment  at  7  o'clock  this  morning.  In  this  vi- 
cinity the  ordinary  road  leaves  the  Plattc,  and  crosses  over  to 
the  Sweet  Water  river,  which  it  strikes  near  Rock  Indepen- 
d<  nee.  Instead  of  following  this  road,  I  had  determined  to 
keep  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Platte  so  far  as  the  mouth 
of  the  Sweet  Water,  in  the  expectation  of  finding  better  grass. 
To  this  I  was  further  prompted  by  the  nature  of  my  instruc- 
tions. To  Mr.  Carson  was  assigned  the  office  of  guide,  as 
we  had  now  reached  a  part  of  the  country  with  which,  or 
a  great  part  of  which,  long  residence  had  made  him  familiar. 
In  a  few  miles  we  reached  the  Red  Buttes,  a  famous  land- 
mark in  this  country,  whose  geological  composition  is  red  sand- 
stone,  limestone,  and  calcareous  sandstone  and  pudding-stone. 

The  river  here  cuts  its  way  through  a  ridge  ;  on  the  eastern 
side  of  it  are  the  lofty  escarpments  of  red  argillaceous  sand 
stone,  which  are  called  the  Red  Buttes.  In  this  passage  the 
stream  is  not  much  compressed  or  pent  up,  there  being  a  bank 
of  considerable  though  variable  breadth  on  either  side.  Im- 
mediately on  entering,  we  discovered  a  band  of  buffalo.  The 
hunters  failed  to  kill  any  of  them ;  the  leading  hunter  being 
thrown  into  a  ravine,  which  occasioned  some  delay,  and  in  the 
mean  time  the  herd  clambered  up  the  steep  face  of  the  ridge. 
It  is  sometimes  wonderful  to  see  these  apparently  clumsy  ani- 
mals make  their  way  up  and  down  the  most  broken  precipices. 
We  halted  to  noon  before  we  had  cleared  this  passage,  at  a 
spot  twelve  miles  distant  from  Cf^he  camp,  where  we  fr'md 

*   ' 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  79 

an  abundance  of  grass.  So  far,  the  account  of  the  Indians 
was  found  to  be  false.  On  the  banks  were  willow  and  cherry 
trees.  The  cherries  were  not  yet  ripe,  but  in  the  thickets 
were  numerous  fresh  tracks  of  the  grizzly  bear,  which  are 
very  fond  of  this  fruit.  The  soil  here  is  red,  the  composition 
being  derived  from  the  red  sandstone.  About  seven  miles 
brought  us  through  the  ridge,  in  which  the  course  of  the  river 
is  north  and  south.  Here  the  valley  opens  out  broadly,  and 
high  walls  of  the  red  formation  present  themselves  among  the 
hills  to  the  east.  We  crossed  here  a  pretty  little  creek,  ail 
affluent  of  the  right  bank.  It  is  well  timbered  with  cotton . 
wood  in  this  vicinity,  and  the  absinthe  has  lost  its  shrub-like 
character,  and  becomes  small  trees  six  and  eight  feet  in  height, 
c  ?d  sometimes  eight  inches  in  diameter.  Two  or  three  miles 
above  this  creek  we  made  our  encampment,  havip.g  traveled 
to-day  twenty-five  miles.  Our  animals  fared  well  here,  as 
there  is  an  abundance  of  grass.  The  river  bed  is  made  up 
of  pebbles,  and  in  the  bank,  at  the  level  of  the  water,  is  a 
conglomerate  of  coarse  pebbles,  about  the  size  of  ostrich  eggs, 
and  which  I  remarked  in  the  banks  of  the  Laramie  fork.  It 
is  overlaid  by  a  soil  of  mixed  clay  and  sand,  six  feet  thick. 
By  astronomical  observations,  our  position  is  in  longitude  106° 
54'  32",  and  latitude  42°  38'. 

30th. — After  traveling  about  twelve  miles  this  morning,  we 
reached  a  place  where  the  Indian  village  had  crossed  the  river. 
Here  were  the  poles  of  discarded  lodges  and  skeletons  of 
horses  lying  about.  Mr.  Carson,  who  had  never  been  higher 
up  than  this  point  on  the  river,  which  has  the  character  of  be- 
ing exceedingly  rugged,  and  walled  in  by  precipices  above, 
thought  it  advisable  to  encamp  near  this  place,  where  we  were 
certain  of  obtaining  grass,  and  to-morrow  make  our  crossing 
among  the  rugged  hills  to  the  Sweet  Water  river.  According, 
ly  we  turned  back  and  descended  the  river  to  an  island  near 
by,  which  was  about  twenty  acres  in  size,  covered  with  a 
luxuriant  growth  of  grass.  The  formation  here  I  found  highly 
interesting.  Immediately  at  this  island  the  river  is  again  shut 
up  in  the  rugged  hills,  which  come  down  to  it  from  the  main 
ridge  in  a  succession  of  spurs  three  or  four  hundred  feet  high, 


80  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NAKKATIVE.  [Jui>r 

and  alternated  with  green  level  prairillons  or  meadows,  bordered 
on  the  river  banks  with  thickets  of  willow,  and  having  many 
plants  to  interest  the  traveler.  The  island  lies  between  two 
of  these  ridges,  three  or  four  hundred  yards  apart,  of  which 
that  on  the  right  bank  is  composed  entirely  of  red  argillaceous 
sandstone,  with  thin  layers  of  fibrous  gypsum.  On  the  left 
bank,  the  ridge  is  composed  entirely  of  silicious  pudding-stone, 
the  pebbles  in  the  numerous  strata  increasing  in  size  from  the 
top  to  the  bottom,  where  they  are  as  large  as  a  man's  head. 
So  far  as  I  was  able  to  determine,  these  strata  incline  to  the 
northeast,  with  a  dip  of  about  15°.  This  pudding-stone,  or 
conglomerate  formation,  I  was  enabled  to  trace  through  an  ex- 
tended range  of  country,  from  a  few  miles  east  of  the  meridian 
of  Fort  Laramie  to  where  I  found  it  superposed  on  the  granite 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  in  longitude  109°  00'.  From  its  ap- 
pearance, the  main  chain  of  the  Laramie  mountain  is  composed 
of  this  rock ;  and  in  a  number  of  places  I  found  isolated  hills, 
which  served  to  mark  a  former  level  which  had  been  probably 
swept  away. 

These  conglomerates  are  very  friable,  and  easily  decom- 
posed ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  this  formation  is  the  source 
from  which  was  derived  the  great  deposite  of  sand  and  gravel 
which  forms  the  surface  rock  of  the  prairie  country  west  of 
the  Mississippi. 

Crossing  the  ridge  of  red  sandstone,  and  traversing  the  little 
prairie  which  lies  to  the  southward  of  it,  we  made  in  the  after- 
noon an  excursion  to  a  place  which  we  called  the  Hot  Spring 
Gate.  This  place  has  much  the  appearance  of  a  gate,  by 
which  the  Platte  passes  through  a  ridge  composed  of  a  white 
and  calcareous  sandstone.  The  length  of  the  passage  is  about 
four  hundred  yards,  with  a  smooth  green  prairie  on  either 
side.  Through  this  place,  the  stream  flows  with  a  quiet  cur- 
rent, unbroken  by  any  rapid,  and  is  about  seventy  yards  wide 
between  the  walls,  which  rise  perpendicularly  from  the  water. 
To  that  on  the  right  bank,  which  is  the  lower,  the  barometer 
gave  a  height  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet.  This  place 
will  be  more  particularly  described  herea.fter,  as  we 
through  it  on  our  return 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  81 

We  saw  here  numerous  herds  of  mountain  sheep,  and  fre- 
quently heard  the  volley  of  rattling  stones  which  accompanied 
their  rapid  descent  down  the  steep  hills.  This  was  the  first 
place  at  which  we  had  killed  any  of  these  animals ;  and,  in 
consequence  of  this  circumstance,  and  of  the  abundance  of 
these  sheep  or  goats,  (for  they  are  called  by  each  name,)  we 
gave  our  encampment  the  name  of  Groat  Island.  Their  flesh 
is  much  esteemed  by  the  hunters,  and  has  very  much  the 
flavor  of  Alleghany  mountain  sheep.  I  have  frequently  seen 
the  horns  of  this  animal  three  feet  long  and  seventeen  inches 
in  circumference  at  the  base,  weighing  eleven  pounds.  But 
two  or  three  of  these  were  killed  by  our  party  at  this  place, 
and  of  these  the  horns  were  small.  The  use  of  these  horns 
seems  to  be  to  protect  the  animal's  head  in  pitching  down  pre- 
cipices to  avoid  pursuing  wolves — their  only  safety  being  in 
places  where  they  cannot  be  followed.  The  bones  are  very 
strong  and  solid,  the  marrow  occupying  but  a  very  small  por- 
tion of  the  bone  in  the  leg,  about  the  thickness  of  a  rye  straw. 
The  hair  is  short,  resembling  the  winter  color  of  our  common 
deer,  which  it  nearly  approaches  in  size  and  appearance.  Ex- 
cept in  the  horns,  it  has  no  resemblance  whatever  to  the  goat. 
The  longitude  of  this  place,  resulting  from  chronometer  and 
lunar  distances,  and  an  qccultation  of  Arietis,  is  107°  13'  29", 
and  the  latitude  42°  33'  27".  One  of  our  horses,  which  had 
given  out,  we  left  to  receive  strength  on  the  island,  intending 
to  take  her,  perhaps,  on  our  return. 

31st. — This  morning  we  left  the  course  of  the  Platte,  to 
cross  over  to  the  Sweet  Water.  Our  way,  for  a  few  miles, 
lay  up  the  sandy  bed  of  a  dry  creek,  in  which  I  found  several 
interesting  plants.  Leaving  this,  we  wended  our  way  to  the 
summit  of  the  hills,  of  which  the  peaks  are  here  eight  hundred 
feet  above  the  Platte,  bare  and  rocky.  A  long  and  gradual 
slope  led  from  these  hills  to  the  Sweet  Water,  which  we  reached 
in  fifteen  miles  from  Goat  Island.  I  made  an  early  encamp- 
ment here,  in  order  to  give  the  hunters  an  opportunity  to  procure 
a  supply  from  several  bands  of  buffalo,  which  made  their  ap- 
pearance in  the  valley  near  by.  The  stream  is  about  sixty 


82  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Jt7Lff 

feet  wide,  and  at  this  time  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  deep,  with 
a  very  moderate  current. 

The  adjoining  prairies  are  sandy,  but  the  immediate  rivei 
bottom  is  a  good  soil,  which  afforded  an  abundance  of  soil 
green  grass  to  our  horses,  and  where  I  found  a  variety  of  in- 
teresting plants,  which  made  their  appearance  for  the  first 
time.  A  rain  to-night  made  it  unpleasantly  cold ;  and  there 
was  no  tree  here,  to  enable  us  to  pitch  our  single  tent,  the 
poles  of  which  had  been  left  at  our  Cache  camp.  We  had, 
therefore,  no  shelter  except  what  was  to  be  found  under  cover 
of  the  absinthe  bushes,  which  grew  in  many  thick  patches,  one 
or  two  and  sometimes  three  feet  high. 


AUGUST. 

1st. — The  hunters  went  ahead  this  morning,  as  buffalo  ap- 
peared tolerably  abundant,  and  I  was  desirous  to  secure  a 
small  stock  of  provisions ;  and  we  moved  about  seven  miles 
up  the  valley,  and  encamped  one  mile  below  Rock  Indepen- 
dence. This  is  an  isolated  granite  rock,  about  six  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  long,  and  forty  in  height.  Except  in  a  depres 
sion  of  the  summit,  where  a  little  soil  supports  a  scanty  growth 
of  shrubs,  with  a  solitary  dwarf  pine,  it  is  entirely  bare. 
Everywhere  within  six  or  eight  feet  of  the  ground,  where  the 
surface  is  sufficiently  smooth,  and  in  some  places  sixty  or 
eighty  feet  above,  the  rock  is  inscribed  with  the  names  of 
travelers.  Many  a  name  famous  in  the  history  of  this  country, 
and  some  well  known  to  science,  are  to  be  found  mixed  among 
those  of  the  traders  and  travelers  for  pleasure  and  curiosity, 
and  of  missionaries  among  the  savages.  Some  of  these  have 
been  washed  away  by  the  rain,  but  the  greater  number  are  still 
very  legible.  The  position  of  this  rock  is  in  longitude  107° 
56',  latitude  42°  29'  36".  We  remained  at  our  camp  of  A  ugust 
1st  until  noon  of  the  next  day,  occupied  in  drying  meat.  By 
observation,  the  longitude  of  the  place  is  107°  25'  23",  latitude 
42°  2^  56". 


1842.] 

2d. — Five  miles  above  Rock  Independence  we  came  to  a 
place  called  the  Devil's  Gate,  where  the  Sweet  Water  cuts 
through  the  point  of  a  granite  ridge.  The  length  of  the  pas- 
sage is  about  three  hundred  yards,  and  the  width  thirty-five 
yards.  The  walls  of  rock  are  vertical,  and  about  four  hundred 
feet  in  height ;  and  the  stream  in  the  gate  is  almost  entirely 
choked  up  by  masses  which  have  fallen  from  above.  In  the 
wall,  on  the  right  bank,  is  a  dike  of  trap-rock,  cutting  through 
a  fine-grained  gray  granite.  Near  the  point  of  this  ridge  crop 
out  some  strata  of  the  valley  formation,  consisting  of  a  grayish 
micaceous  sandstone,  and  fine-grained  conglomerate,  and  marl. 
We  encamped  eight  miles  above  the  Devil's  Gate.  There 
was  no  timber  of  any  kind  on  the  river,  but  good  fires  were 
made  of  drift  wood,  aided  by  the  lots  de  vache. 

We  had  to-night  no  shelter  from  the  rain,  which  commenced 
with  squalls  of  wind  about  sunset.  The  country  here  is  ex- 
ceedingly picturesque.  On  either  side  of  the  valley,  which  is 
five  miles  broad,  the  mountains  rise  to  the  height  of  twelve 
and  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  feet.  On  the  south  side, 
the  range  appears  to  be  timbered,  and  to-night  is  luminous  with 
fires — probably  the  work  of  the  Indians,  who  have  just  passed 
through  the  valley.  On  the  north,  broken  and  granite  masses 
rise  abruptly  from  the  green  sward  of  the  river,  terminating  in 
a  line  of  broken  summits.  Except  in  the  crevices  of  the  rock, 
and  here  and  there  on  a  ledge  or  bench  of  the  mountain,  where 
a  few  hardy  pines  have  clustered  together,  these  are  perfectly 
bare  and  destitute  of  vegetation. 

Among  these  masses,  where  there  are  sometimes  isolated 
hills  and  ridges,  green  valleys  open  in  upon  the  river,  which 
sweeps  the  base  of  these  mountains  for  thirty-six  miles. 
Everywhere  its  deep  verdure  and  profusion  of  beautiful 
flowers  is  in  pleasing  contrast  with  the  sterile  grandeur  of  the 
rock  and  the  barrenness  of  the  sandy  plain,  which,  from  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  sweeps  up  to  the  mountain  range  that 
forms  its  southern  boundary.  The  great  evaporation  on  the 
sandy  soil  of  this  elevated  plain,  and  the  saline  efflorescences 
which  whiten  the  ground,  and  shine  like  lakes  reflecting  in  the 
sun,  make  a  soil  wholly  unfit  for  cultivation. 


, 

CAPT.    FREMONT  S    NARRATIVE. 


3d.  —  We  were  early  on  the  road  the  next  morning,  travel- 
ing along  the  upper  part  of  the  valley,  which  is  overgrown 
with  artemisia.  Scattered  about  on  the  plain  are  occasional 
small  isolated  hills.  One  of  these  which  I  have  examined, 
about  fifty  feet  high,  consisted  of  white  clay  and  marl,  in 
nearly  horizontal  strata.  Several  bands  of  buffalo  made  their 
appearance  to-day,  with  herds  of  antelope  ;  and  a  grizzly  bear 
—  the  only  one  we  encountered  during  the  journey  —  was  seen 
scrambling  up  among  the  rocks.  As  we  passed  over  a  slight 
rise  near  the  river,  we  caught  the  first  view  of  the  Wind  River 
mountains,  appearing,  at  this  distance  of  about  seventy  miles, 
to  be  a  low  and  dark  mountainous  ridge.  The  view  dissipated 
in  a  moment  the  pictures  which  had  been  created  in  our  minds, 
by  many  descriptions  of  travelers,  who  have  compared  these 
mountains  to  the  Alps  in  Switzerland,  and  speak  of  the  glit- 
tering peaks  which  rise  in  icy  majesty  amidst  the  eternal 
glaciers  nine  or  ten  thousand  foet  into  the  region  of  eternal 
snows.  The  nakedness  of  the  river  was  relieved  by  groves 
of  willows,  where  we  encamped  at  night,  after  a  march  of 
twenty-six  miles;  and  numerous  bright-colored  flowers  had 
made  the  river  bottom  look  gay  as  a  garden.  We  found  here 
a  horse,  which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Indians,  because 
his  hoofs  had  been  so  much  worn  that  he  was  unable  to  travel  ; 
and  during  the  night  a  dog  came  into  the  camp. 

4th.  —  Our  camp  was  at  the  foot  of  the  granite  mountains, 
which  we  climbed  this  morning  to  take  some  barometrical 
heights  ;  and  here  among  the  rocks  was  seen  the  first  magpie. 
On  our  return,  we  saw  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  river. 
We  left  here  one  of  our  horses,  which  was  unable  to  proceed 
;iarther.  A  few  miles  from  the  encampment  we  left  the  river, 
which  makes  a  bend  to  the  south,  and  traversing  an  undula- 
ting country,  consisting  of  a  grayish  micaceous  sandstone  and 
fine-grained  conglomerates,  struck  it  again,  and  encamped 
after  a  journey  of  twenty-five  miles.  Astronomical  observa- 
tions placed  us  in  latitude  42°  32'  30",  and  longitude  108° 
30'  13". 

5th.  —  The  morning  was  dark,  with  a  driving  rain,  and 
disagreeably  cold.  We  continued  our  route  as  usual  :  »  thp 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  85 

weather  became  so  bad,  that  we  were  glad  to  avail  ourselves 
of  the  shelter  offered  by  a  small  island,  about  ten  miles  above 
our  last  encampment,  which  was  covered  with  a  dense  growth 
of  willows.  There  was  fine  grass  for  our  animals,  and  the 
timber  afforded  us  comfortable  protection  and  good  fires.  In 
the  afternoon,  the  sun  broke  through  the  clouds  for  a  short 
time,  and  the  barometer  at  5  p.  M.  was  23*713,  the  thermometer 
60°,  with  the  wind  strong  from  the  northwest.  We  availed 
ourselves  of  the  fine  weather  to  make  excursions  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. The  river,  at  this  place,  is  bordered  by  hills  of  the 
valley  formation.  They  are  of  moderate  height ;  one  of  the 
highest  peaks  on  the  right  bank  being,  according  to  the  barom- 
eter, one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  above  the  river.  On  the 
left  bank  they  are  higher.  They  consist  of  a  fine  white  clayey 
sandstone,  a  white  calcareous  sandstone,  and  coarse  sandstone 
or  pudding-stone. 

6th. — It  continued  steadily  raining  all  day ;  but,  notwith- 
standing, we  left  our  encampment  in  tho  afternoon.  Our  ani- 
mals had  been  much  refreshed  by  their  repose,  and  an  abun- 
dance of  rich,  soft  grass,  which  had  been  much  improved  by 
the  rains.  In  about  three  miles,  we  reached  the  entrance  of  a 
kanyon,  where  the  Sweet  Water  issues  upon  the  more  open 
valley  we  had  passed  over.  Immediately  at  the  entrance,  and 
superimposed  directly  upon  the  granite,  are  strata  of  compact 
calcareous  sandstone  and  chert,  alternating  with  fine  white  and 
reddish-white,  and  fine  gray  and  red  sandstones.  These  strata 
dip  to  the  eastward  at  an  angle  of  about  18°,  and  form  the  western 
limit  of  the  sandstone  and  limestone  formations  on  the  line  of 
our  route.  Here  we  entered  among  the  primitive  rocks.  The 
usual  road  passes  to  the  right  of  this  place ;  but  we  wound,  or 
rather  scrambled,  our  way  up  the  narrow  valley  for  several 
hours.  Wildness  and  disorder  were  the  character  of  this 
scenery.  The  river  had  been  swollen  by  the  late  rains,  and 
came  rushing  through  with  an  impetuous  current,  three  o> 
four  feet  deep,  and  generally  twenty  yards  broad.  The  valley 
was  sometimes  the  breadth  of  the  stream,  and  sometimes 
opened  into  little  green  meadows,  sixty  yards  wide,  with  open 
groves  of  aspen.  The  stream  was  bordered  throughout  with 


86  CAPT.    FREMONT S    NARRATIVE.  [AtJO. 

aspen,  beech,  and  willow ;  and  tall  pines  grew  on  the  sides  and 
summits  of  the  crags.  On  both  sides  the  granite  rocks  rose 
precipitously  to  the  height  of  three  hundred  and  five  hundred 
feet,  terminating  in  jagged  and  broken  pointed  peaks;  and 
fragments  of  fallen  rock  lay  piled  up  at  the  foot  of  the  preci- 
pices. Gneiss,  mica  slate,  and  a  white  granite,  were  among 
the  varieties  I  noticed.  Here  were  many  old  traces  of  beaver 
on  the  stream ;  remnants  of  dams,  near  which  were  lying 
trees,  which  they  had  cut  down,  one  and  two  feet  in  diameter. 
The  hills  entirely  shut  up  the  river  at  the  end  of  about  five 
miles,  and  we  turned  up  a  ravine  that  led  to  a  high  prairie, 
which  seemed  to  be  the  general  level  of  the  country.  Hence, 
to  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  there  is  a  regular  and  very  gradual 
rise.  Blocks  of  granite  were  piled  up  at  the  heads  of  the  ra- 
vines, and  small  bare  knolls  of  mica  slate  and  milky  quartz 
protruded  at  frequent  intervals  on  the  prairie,  which  was 
whitened  in  occasional  spots  with  small  salt  lakes,  where  the 
water  had  evaporated,  and  left  the  bed  covered  with  a  shining 
incrustation  of  salt.  The  evening  was  very  cold,  a  nortnwest 
wind  driving  a  fine  rain  in  our  faces ;  and  at  nightfall  we  de- 
scended to  a  little  stream,  on  which  we  encamped,  abcat  two 
miles  from  the  Sweet  Water.  Here  had  recently  jeen  a  very 
large  camp  of  the  Snake  and  Crow  Indians ;  and  some  large 
poles  lying  about  afforded  the  means  of  pitching  a  tent,  and 
making  other  places  of  shelter.  Our  fires  to-night  were  made 
principally  of  the  dry  branches  of  the  artemisia,  which  covered 
the  slopes.  It  burns  quickly,  and  with  a  clear  oily  flame,  and 
makes  a  hot  fire.  The  hills  here  are  composed  of  hard,  com- 
pact mica  slate,  with  veins  of  quartz. 

7th. — We  left  our  encampment  with  the  rising  sun.  As  we 
rose  from  the  bed  of  the  creek,  the  snow  line  of  the  mountains 
stretched  gradually  before  us,  the  white  peaks  glittering  in  the 
sun.  They  had  been  hidden  in  the  dark  weather  of  the  last 
days,  and  it  had  been  snowing  on  them,  while  it  rained  in 
le  plains.  We  crossed  a  ridge,  and  again  suuck  the  Sweet 
Water — here  a  beautiful,  swift  stream,  with  a  more  open  val- 
ley, timbered  with  beech  and  cottonwood.  It  now  began  to 
lose  itself  in  the  many  small  fork*  'vhich  make  its  head ;  and 


1342.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  87 

we  continued  up  the  main  stream  until  near  noon,  when  wv 
left  it  a  few  miles,  to  make  our  noon  halt  on  a  small  cree> 
xmong  the  hills,  from  which  the  stream  issues  by  a  small  opei 
ng.  Within  was  a  beautiful  grassy  spot,  covered  with  an 
open  grove  of  large  beech-trees,  among  which  I  found  several 
plants  that  I  had  not  previously  seen. 

The  afternoon  was  cloudy,  with  squalls  of  rain ;  but  the 
weather  became  fine  at  sunset,  when  we  again  encamped  on 
the  Sweet  Water,  within  a  few  miles  of  t*~  >9r*~H  PASS.  Th« 
country  over  which  we  have  passed  to-day  consists  principally 
of  the  compact  mica  slate,  which  crops  out  on  all  ridges, 
making  the  uplands  very  rocky  and  slaty.  In  the  escarpments 

hich  border  the  creeks,  it  is  seen  alternating  with  a  light- 
colored  granite,  at  an  inclination  of  45°  ;  the  beds  varying  in 
thickness  from  two  or  three  feet  to  six  or  eight  hundred.  At 
a  distance,  the  granite  frequently  has  the  appearance  of  irreg- 
ular lumps  of  clay,  hardened  by  exposure.  A  variety  of 
asters  may  now  be  numbered  among  the  characteristic  plants, 
and  the  artemisia  continues  in  full  glory ;  but  cacti  have  be- 
ome  rare,  and  mosses  begin  to  dispute  the  hills  with  them. 
The  evening  was  damp  and  unpleasant — the  thermometer,  at 
ten  o'clock,  being  at  36°,  and  the  grass  wet  with  a  heavy  dew. 
Our  astronomical  observations  placed  this  encampment  in  lon- 
gitude 109°  21'  32",  and  latitude  42°  27'  15". 

Early  in  the  morning  we  resumed  our  journey,  the  weather 
still  cloudy,  with  occasional  rain.  Our  general  course  was 
west,  as  I  had  determined  to  cross  the  dividing  ridge  by  a 
bridle-path  among  the  country  more  immediately  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains,  and  return  by  the  wagon  road,  two  and  a 
half  miles  to  the  south  of  the  point  where  the  trail  crosses. 

About  six  miles  from  our  encampment  bn  tight  us  to  the 
summit.  The  ascent  had  been  so  gradual,  that,  with  ail  the 
jitimate  knowledge  possessed  by  Carson,  who  had  made  the 
country  his  home  for  seventeen  years,  we  were  obliged  to  watch 
very  closely  to  find  the  place  at  which  we  had  reached  the 
culminating  point.  This  was  between  two  low  hills,  rising  on 
either  hand  fifty  or  sixty  feet.  When  I  looked  back  at  them, 
from  the  foot  of  the  immediate  slope  on  the  western  plain,  their 


[Atio. 

summits  appeared  to  be  about  one  hundred  '  and  twenty  feet 
above.  From  the  impression  on  my  mind  at  this  time,  and  sub- 
sequently  on  our  return,  I  should  compare  the  elevation  which 
we  surmounted  immediately  at  the  Pass,  to  the  ascent  of  the 
Capitol  hill  from  the  avenue,  at  Washington.  It  is  difficult 
for  me  to  fix  positively  the  breadth  of  this  Pass.  From  the 
broken  ground  where  it  commences,  at  the  foot  of  the  Wind 
River  chain,  the  view  to  the  southeast  is  over  a  champaign 
country,  broken,  at  the  distance  of  nineteen  miles,  by  the 
Table  rock  ;  which,  with  the  other  isolated  hills  in  its  vicinity, 
seem  to  stand  on  a  comparative  plain.  This  I  judged  to  be  its 
termination,  the  ridge  recovering  its  rugged  character  with  the 
Table  rock.  It  will  be  seen  that  it  in  no  manner  resembles  the 
places  to  which  the  term  is  commonly  applied — nothing  of  the 
gorge-like  character  and  winding  ascents  of  the  Alleghany 
passes  in  America;  nothing  of  the  Great  St.  Bernard  and 
Simplon  passes  in  Europe.  Approaching  it  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Sweet  Water,  a  sandy  plain,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  long,  conducts,  by  a  gradual  and  regular  ascent,  to  the 
summit,  about  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea;  and  the 
traveler,  without  being  reminded  of  any  change  by  toilsome 
ascents,  suddenly  finds  himself  on  the  waters  which  flow  to  the 
Pacific  ocean.  By  the  route  we  had  traveled,  the  distance 
from  Fort  Laramie  is  three  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  or  nine 
hundred  and  fifty  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas. 

Continuing  our  march,  we  reached,  in  eight  miles  from  the 
Pass,  the  Little  Sandy,  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Colorado, 
or  Green  river  of  the  Gulf  of  California.  The  weather  had 
grown  fine  during  the  morning,  and  we  remained  here  the  rest 
of  the  day,  to  dry  our  baggage  and  take  some  astronomical 
observations.  The  stream  was  about  forty  feet  wide,  and  two 
or  three  deep,  with  clear  water  and  a  full  swift  current,  over 
a  sandy  bed.  It  was  timbered  with  a  growth  of  low  bushy  and 
dense  willows,  among  which  were  little  verdant  spots,  which 
gave  our  animals  fine  grass,  and  where  I  found  a  number  of 
interesting  plants.  Among  the  neighboring  hills  I  noticed 
fragments  of  granite  containing  magnetic  iron.  Longitude  of 
the  camp  was  109°  37'  59",  and  latitude  42°  27'  34". 


1842.]  JAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  89 

9th. — We  made  our  noon  halt  on  Big  Sandy,  another  tribu- 
tary of  Green  river.  The  face  of  the  country  traversed  was 
of  a  brown  sand  of  granite  materials,  the  detritus  of  the  neigh- 
boring mountain.  Strata  of  the  milky  quartz  cropped  out,  and 
blocks  of  granite  were  scattered  about,  containing  magnetic 
iron.  On  Sandy  creek  the  formation  was  of  parti-colored 
sand,  exhibited  in  escarpments  fifty  to  eighty  feet  high.  Ir 
the  afternoon  we  had  a  severe  storm  of  hail,  and  encamped  at 
sunset  on  the  first  New  Fork.  Within  the  space  of  a  few 
miles,  the  Wind  mountains  supply  a  number  of  tributaries 
to  Green  river,  which  are  called  the  New  Forks.  Near  our 
camp  were  two  remarkable  isolated  hills,  one  of  them  suffi- 
ciently large  to  merit  the  name  of  mountain.  They  are  called 
the  Two  Buttes,  and  will  serve  to  identify  the  place  of  our  en 
campment,  which  the  observations  of  the  evening  placed  in 
longitude  109°  58'  11",  and  latitude  42°  42'  46".  On  the 
right  bank  of  the  stream,  opposite  to  the  large  hill,  the  strata 
which  are  displayed  consist  of  decomposing  granite,  which 
supplies  the  brown  sand  of  which  the  face  of  the  country  is 
composed  to  a  considerable  depth. 

10th. — The  air  at  sunrise  is  clear  and  pure,  and  the  morning 
extremely  cold,  but  beautiful.  A  lofty  snowy  peak  of  the  moun- 
tain is  glittering  in  the  first  rays  of  the  sun,  which  have  not 
yet  reached  us.  The  long  mountain  wall  to  the  east,  rising 
two  thousand  feet  abruptly  from  the  plain,  behind  which  we 
see  the  peaks,  is  still  dark,  and  cuts  clear  against  the  glowing 
sky.  A  fog,  just  risen  from  the  river,  lies  along  the  base  of 
the  mountain.  A  little  before  sunrise,  the  thermometer  was 
at  35°,  and  at  sunrise  33°.  Water  froze  last  night,  and  fires 
are  very  comfortable.  The  scenery  becomes  hourly  more  in- 
teresting and  grand,  and  the  view  here  is  truly  magnificent ; 
but,  indeed,  it  needs  something  to  repay  the  long  prairie  jour- 
ney of  a  thousand  miles.  The  sun  has  shot  above  the  wall, 
and  makes  a  magical  change.  The  whole  valley  is  glowing 
and  bright,  and  all  the  mountain  peaks  are  gleaming  like  sil- 
ver. Though  these  snow  mountains  are  not  the  Alps,  they 
have  their  own  character  of  grandeur  and  magnificence,  and 
aoubtless  will  find  pens  and  pencils  to  do  them  justice.  In 


90  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Atro. 

the  scene  before  us,  we  feel  how  much  wood  impiu^es  a  view. 
The  pines  on  the  mountain  seemed  to  give  it  much  additional 
beauty.  I  was  agreeably  disappointed  in  the  character  of  the 
streams  on  this  side  of  the  ridge.  Instead  of  the  creeks,  which 
description  had  led  me  to  expect,  I  find  bold,  broad  streams, 
with  three  or  four  feet  water,  and  a  rapid  current.  The  fork 
on  which  we  are  encamped  is  upwards  of  a  hundred  feet  wide, 
timbered  with  groves  or  thickets  of  the  low  willow.  We 
were  now  approaching  the  loftiest  part  of  the  Wind  River 
chain  ;  and  I  left  the  valley  a  few  miles  from  our  encamp- 
ment, intending  to  penetrate  the  mountains  as  far  as  possible 
with  the  whole  party.  We  were  soon  involved  in  very  broken 
ground,  among  long  ridges  covered  with  fragments  of  granite. 
Winding  our  way  up  a  long  ravine,  we  came  unexpectedly  in 
view  of  a  most  beautiful  lake,  set  like  a  gem  in  the  mountains. 
The  sheet  of  water  lay  transversely  across  the  direction  we 
had  been  pursuing ;  and,  descending  the  steep,  rocky  ridge, 
where  it  was  necessary  to  lead  our  horses,  we  followed  its 
banks  to  the  southern  extremity.  Here  a  view  of  the  utmost 
magnificence  and  grandeur  burst  upon  our  eyes.  With  noth- 
ing between  us  and  their  feet  to  lessen  the  effect  of  the  whole 
height,  a  grand  bed  of  snow-capped  mountains  rose  before  us, 
pile  upon  pile,  glowing  in  the  bright  light  of  an  August  day. 
Immediately  below  them  lay  the  lake,  between  two  ridges,  cov- 
ered with  dark  pines,  which  swept  down  from  the  main  chain 
to  the  spot  where  we  stood.  Here,  where  the  lake  glittered  in 
the  open  sunlight,  its  banks  of  yellow  sand  and  the  light  foli- 
age of  aspen  groves  contrasted  well  with  the  gloomy  pines. 
"  Never  before,"  said  Mr.  Preuss,  "  in  this  country  or  in 
Europe,  have  I  seen  such  grand,  magnificent  rocks."  I  was 
so  much  pleased  with  the  beauty  of  the  place,  that  I  determined 
to  make  the  main  camp  here,  where  our  animals  would  find 
good  pasturage,  and  explore  the  mountains  with  a  small  party 
of  men.  Proceeding  a  little  further,  we  came  suddenly  upon 
the  outlet  of  the  lake,  where  it  found  its  way  through  a  nar- 
row passage  between  low  hills.  Dark  pines  which  overhung 
the  stream,  and  masses  of  rock,  where  the  water  foamed  along, 
gave  it  much  romantic  beauty.  Where  we  crossed,  which 


18454. j  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  9J 

was  immediately  at  the  outlet,  it  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
wide,  and  so  deep  that  with  difficulty  we  were  able  to  ford  it. 
Its  bed  was  an  accumulation  of  rocks,  boulders,  and  broad  slabs, 
and  large  angular  fragments,  among  which  the  animals  fell 
repeatedly. 

The  current  was  very  swift,  and  the  water  cold,  and  of  a 
crystal  purity.  In  crossing  this  stream,  I  met  with  a  great 
misfortune  in  having  my  barometer  broken.  It  was  the  only 
one.  A  great  part  of  the  interest  of  the  journey  for  me  was 
in  the  exploration  of  these  mountains,  of  which  so  much  had 
been  said  that  was  doubtful  and  contradictory ;  and  now  their 
snowy  peaks  rose  majestically  before  me,  and  the  only  means 
of  giving  them  authentically  to  science,  the  object  of  my  anx- 
ious solicitude  by  night  and  day,  was  destroyed.  We  had 
brought  this  barometer  in  safety  a  thousand  miles,  and  broke 
it  almost  among  the  snow  of  the  mountains.  The  loss  was  felt 
by  the  whole  camp — all  had  seen  my  anxiety,  and  aided  me 
in  preserving  it.  The  height  of  these  mountains,  considered 
by  many  hunters  and  traders  the  highest  in  the  whole  range, 
had  been  a  theme  of  constant  discussion  among  them  ;  and  all 
had  looked  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  moment  when  the  in 
strument,  which  they  believed  to  be  as  true  as  the  sun,  should 
stand  upon  the  summits,  and  decide  their  disputes.  Their 
grief  was  only  inferior  to  my  own. 

The  lake  is  about  three  miles  long,  and  of  very  irregular 
width,  and  apparently  great  depth,  and  is  the  head- water  of 
the  third  New  Fork,  a  tributary  to  Green  river,  the  Colorado 
of  the  west.  In  the  narrative  I  have  called  it  Mountain  lake.  I 
encamped  on  the  north  side,  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  from  the  outlet.  This  was  the  most  western  point  at 
which  I  obtained  astronomical  observations,  by  which  this 
place,  called  Bernier's  encampment,  is  made  in  110°  08'  03" 
west  longitude  from  Greenwich,  and  latitude  43°  49X  49". 
The  mountain  peaks,  as  laid  down,  were  fixed  by  bearings 
from  this  and  other  astronomical  points.  We  had  no  other 
compass  than  the  small  ones  used  in  sketching  the  country  ; 
but  from  an  azimuth,  in  which  one  of  them  was  used,  the  va- 
riation of  the  compass  is  18°  east.  The  correction  made  in 


Q2  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Auo. 

our  field-work  by  the  astronomical  observations  indicates  that 
this  is  a  very  correct  observation. 

As  soon  as  the  camp  was  formed,  I  set  about  endeavoring  to 
repair  my  barometer.  As  I  have  already  said,  this  was  a 
standard  cistern  barometer,  of  Troughton's  construction.  The 
glass  cistern  had  been  broken  about  midway  ;  but  as  the  in- 
strument had  been  kept  in  a  proper  position,  no  air  had  found 
As  way  into  the  tube,  the  end  of  which  had  always  remained 
overed.  I  had  with  me  a  number  of  vials  of  tolerably  thick 
ass,  some  of  which  were  of  the  same  diameter  as  the  cistern, 
ind  I  spent  the  day  in  slowly  working  on  these,  endeavoring 
o  cut  them  of  the  requisite  length  ;  but,  as  my  instrument  was 
a  very  rough  file,  I  invariably  broke  them.  A  groove  was 
cut  in  one  of  the  trees,  where  the  barometer  was  placed  during 
the  night,  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  any  possible  danger,  and  in 
the  morning  I  commenced  again.  Among  the  powder-horns 
in  the  camp,  I  found  one  which  was  very  transparent,  so  that 
its  contents  could  be  almost  as  plainly  seen  as  through  glass. 
This  I  boiled  and  stretched  on  a  piece  of  wood  to  the  requisite 
diameter,  and  scraped  it  very  thin,  in  order  to  increase  to  the 
utmost  its  transparency.  I  then  secured  it  firmly  in  its  place 
on  the  instrument,  with  strong  glue  made  from  a  buffalo,  and 
filled  it  with  mercury,  properly  heated.  A  piece  of  skin, 
which  had  covered  one  of  the  vials,  furnished  a  good  pocket, 
which  was  well  secured  with  strong  thread  and  glue,  and  then 
the  brass  cover  was  screwed  to  its  place.  The  instrumen 
was  left  some  time  to  dry  ;  and  when  I  reversed  it,  a  few 
hours  after,  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  it  in  perfect  order ; 
its  indications  being  about  the  same  as  on  the  other  side  of  the 
lake  before  it  had  been  broken.  Our  success  in  this  little 
incident  diffused  pleasure  throughout  the  camp  ;  and  we  im- 
mediately set  about  our  preparations  for  ascending  the  moun- 
tains. 

As  will  be  seen  on  reference  to  a  map,  on  this  short  moun- 
tain chain  are  the  head-waters  of  four  great  rivers  on  the  con- 
tinent, namely :  the  Colorado,  Columbia,  Missouri,  and  Platte 
rivers.  It  had  been  my  design,  after  ascending  the  mountains, 
to  continue  our  route  on  the  western  side  of  the  range,  and 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATITE.  93 

crossing  through  a  pass  at  the  northwestern  end  of  the  chain, 
about  thirty  miles  from  our  present  camp,  return  along  the 
eastern  slope,  across  the  heads  of  the  Yellowstone  river,  and 
join  on  the  line  to  our  station  of  August  7,  immediately  at  the 
foot  of  the  ridge.  In  this  way,  I  should  be  enabled  to  include 
the  whole  chain,  and  its  numerous  waters,  in  my  survey ;  but 
various  considerations  induced  me,  very  reluctantly,  to  aban- 
don this  plan. 

I  was  desirous  to  keep  strictly  within  the  scope  of  my  in- 
structions, and  it  would  have  required  ten  or  fifteen  additional 
days  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object ;  our  animals  had 
become  very  much  worn  out  with  the  length  of  the  journey ; 
game  was  very  scarce  ;  and,  though  it  does  not  appear  in  the 
course  of  the  narrative,  (as  I  have  avoided  dwelling  upon  tri- 
fling incidents  not  connected  with  the  objects  of  the  expedition,) 
the  spirits  of  the  men  had  been  much  exhausted  by  the  hardships 
and  privations  to  which  they  had  been  subjected.  Our  provisions 
had  wellnigh  all  disappeared.  Bread  had  been  long  out  of  the 
question  ;  and  of  all  our  stock,  we  had  remaining  two  or  three 
pounds  of  coffee,  and  a  small  quantity  of  macaroni,  which  had 
been  husbanded  with  great  care  for  the  mountain  expedition 
we  were  about  to  undertake.  Our  daily  meal  consisted  of  dry 
buffalo  meat,  cooked  in  tallow  ;  and,  as  we  had  not  dried  this 
with  Indian  skill,  part  of  it  was  spoiled  ;  and  what  remained 
of  good,  was  as  hard  as  wood,  having  much  the  taste  and  ap- 
pearance of  so  many  pieces  of  bark.  Even  of  thisy  our  stock 
was  rapidly  diminishing  in  a  camp  which  was  capable  of  con- 
suming two  buffaloes  in  every  twenty-four  hours.  These  ani- 
mals had  entirely  disappeared  ;  and  it  was  not  probable  that 
we  should  fall  in  with  them  again  until  we  returned  to  the 
Sweet  Water. 

Our  arrangements  for  the  ascent  were  rapidly  completed, 
We  were  in  a  hostile  country,  which  rendered  the  greatest', 
vigilancr  and  circumspection  necessary.  The  pass  at  the 
north  end  of  the  mountain  was  greatly  infested  by  Blackfeet, 
and  immediately  opposite  was  one  of  their  forts,  on  the  edge  of 
a  little  thicket,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  from  our  encamp, 
ment.  We  were  posted  in  a  grove  of  beech,  on  the  margin  of 


94  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Aus. 

the  lake,  and  a  few  hundred  feet  long,  with  a  narrow  prairillon 
on  the  inner  side,  bordered  by  the  rocky  ridge.  In  the  uppei 
end  of  this  grove  we  cleared  a  circular  space  about  forty  feet 
in  diameter,  and,  with  the  felled  timber,  and  interwoven 
branches,  surrounded  it  with  a  breastwork  five  feet  in  height. 
A  gap  was  left  for  a  gate  on  the  inner  side,  by  which  the  ani- 
mals were  to  be  driven  in  and  secured,  while  the  men  slept 
around  the  little  work.  It  was  half  hidden  by  the  foliage,  and 
garrisoned  by  twelve  resolute  men,  would  have  set  at  defiance 
any  band  of  savages  which  might  chance  to  discover  them  in 
the  interval  of  our  absence.  Fifteen  of  the  best  mules,  with 
fourteen  men,  were  selected  for  the  mountain  party.  Our  pro- 
visions consisted  of  dried  meat  for  two  days,  with  our  little 
stock  of  coffee  and  some  macaroni.  In  addition  to  the  ba- 
rometer and  thermometer,  I  took  with  me  a  sextant  and  spy- 
glass, and  we  had  of  course  our  compasses.  In  charge  of  the 
camp  I  left  Bernier,  one  of  my  most  trustworthy  men,  who 
possessed  the  most  determined  courage. 

12th. — Early  in  the  morning  we  left  the  camp,  fifteen  in 
number,  well  armed,  of  course,  and  mounted  on  our  best 
mules.  A  pack-animal  carried  our  provisions,  with  a  coffee- 
pot and  kettle,  and  three  or  four  tin  cups.  Every  man  had  a 
blanket  strapped  over  his  saddle,  to  serve  for  his  bed,  and  the 
instruments  were  carried  by  turns  on  their  backs.  We  enter- 
ed directly  on  rough  and  rocky  ground  ;  and,  just  after  cross- 
ing the  ridge,  had  the  good  fortune  to  shoot  an  antelope.  We 
heard  the  roar,  and  had  a  glimpse  of  a  waterfall  as  we  rode 
along,  and,  crossing  in  our  way  two  fine  streams,  tributary  to 
ihe  Colorado,  in  about  two  hours'  ride  we  reached  the  top  of 
vhe  first  row  or  range  of  the  mountains.  Here,  again,  a  view 
of  the  most  romantic  beauty  met  our  eyes.  It  seemed  as  if, 
from  the  vast  expanse  of  uninteresting  prairie  we  had  passed 
over,  Nature  had  collected  all  her  beauties  together  in  one 
chosen  place.  We  were  overlooking  a  deep  valley,  which  was 
entirely  occupied  by  three  lakes,  and  from  the  brink  to  th« 
surrounding  ridges  rose  precipitously  five  hundred  and  a  thou* 
sand  feet,  covered  with  the  dark  green  of  the  balsam  pine,  re- 
lieved on  the  border  of  the  lake  with  the  light  foliage  of  the 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  &J> 

aspen.  They  all  communicated  with  each  other,  and  the 
green  of  the  waters,  common  to  mountain  lakes  of  great  depth, 
showed  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  cross  them.  The  sur- 
prise manifested  by  our  guides  when  these  impassable  obsta- 
cles suddenly  barred  our  progress,  proved  that  they  were 
among  the  hidden  treasures  of  the  place,  unknown  even  to  the 
wandering  trappers  of  the  region.  Descending  the  hill,  we 
proceeded  to  make  our  way  along  the  margin  to  the  southern 
extremity.  A  narrow  strip  of  angular  fragments  of  rock 
sometimes  afforded  a  rough  pathway  for  our  rrmles,  but  gener- 
ally we  rode  along  the  shelving  side,  occasionally  scrambling 
up,  at  a  considerable  risk  of  tumbling  bar  A  into  the  lake. 

The  slope  was  frequently  60°  ;  the  ^nes  grew  densely  to- 
gether, and  the  ground  was  covered  with  the  branches  and 
trunks  of  trees.  The  air  was  fragrant  *f  hh  the  odor  of  the 
pines  ;  and  I  realized  this  delightful  mormng  the  pleasure  of 
breathing  that  mountain  air  which  makes  a  constant  theme  of 
the  hunter's  praise,  and  which  now  made  us  feel  as  if  we  had 
all  been  drinking  some  exhilarating  gas.  The  depths  of  this 
unexplored  forest  v  ere  a  place  to  delight  the  heart  of  a  bota- 
nist. There  was  a  rich  undergrowth  of  plants,  and  numerous 
gay-colored  flowers  in  brilliant  bloom.  We  reached  the  out- 
let at  length,  where  some  freshly-barked  willows  that  lay  in 
the  water  showed  that  beaver  had  been  recently  at  work. 
There  were  some  small  brown  squirrels  jumping  about  in  the 
pines,  and  a  couple  of  large  mallard  ducks  swimming  about  in 
t^e  stream. 

The  hills  on  this  southern  end  were  low,  and  the  lake  look- 
ed like  a  mimic  sea,  as  the  waves  broke  on  the  sandy  beach  in 
the  force  of  a  strong  breeze.  There  was  a  pretty  open  spot, 
with  fine  grass  for  our  mules  ;  and  we  made  our  noon  halt  on 
.he  beach,  under  the  shade  of  some  large  hemlocks.  We  re- 
sumed our  journey  after  a  halt  of  about  an  hour,  making  our 
way  up  the  ridge  on  the  western  side  of  the  lake.  In  search 
of  smoother  ground,  we  rode  a  little  inland  ;  and,  passing 
through  groves  of  aspen,  soon  found  ourselves  again  among 
the  pines.  Emerging  from  these,  we  struck  the  summit  of  th« 
•idge  above  the  upper  end  of  the  lake. 


96  CAPT.    FREMONT  S   JNAKRATIVE.  [AUG. 

V  e  had  reached  a  very  elevated  point,  and  in  the  valley  be- 
low, and  among  the  hills,  were  a  number  of  lakes  of  different 
levels ;  some  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  others,  with 
which  they  communicated  by  foaming  torrents.  Even  to  our 
great  height  the  roar  of  the  cataracts  came  up,  and  we  could 
see  them  leaping  down  in  lines  of  snowy  foam.  From  this 
scene  of  busy  waters,  we  turned  abruptly  into  the  stillness  of 
a  forest,  where  we  rode  among  the  open  bolls  of  the  pines,  over 
a  lawn  of  verdant  grass,  having  strikingly  the  air  of  cultivated 
grounds.  This  led  us,  after  a  time,  among  masses  of  rock 
which  had  no  vegetable  earth  but  in  hollows  and  crevices 
though  still  the  pine  forest  continued.  Towards  evening  we 
reached  a  defile,  or  rather  a  hole  in  the  mountains,  entirelr 
shut  in  by  dark  pine-covered  rocks. 

A  small  stream,  with  scarcely  perceptible  current,  flowed 
through  a  level  bottom  of  perhaps  eighty  yards  width,  where 
the  grass  was  saturated  with  water.  Into  this  the  mules  were 
turned,  and  were  neither  hobbled  nor  picketed  during  the 
night,  as  the  fine  pasturage  took  away  all  temptation  to  stray  ; 
and  we  made  our  bivouac  in  the  pines.  The  surrounding 
masses  were  all  of  granite.  While  supper  was  being  pre- 
pared, I  set  out  on  an  excursion  in  the  neighborhood,  accom- 
panied by  one  of  my  men.  We  wandered  about  among  the 
crags  and  ravines  until  dark,  richly  repaid  for  our  walk  by  a 
fine  collection  of  plants,  many  of  them  in  full  bloom.  Ascend- 
ing a  peak  to  find  the  place  of  our  camp,  we  saw  that  the  little 
defile  in  which  we  lay  communicated  with  the  long  green  val- 
ley of  some  stream,  which,  here  locked  up  in  the  mountains, 
far  away  to  the  south,  found  its  way  in  a  dense  forest  to  the 
plains. 

Looking  along  its  upward  course,  it  seemed  to  conduct,  by  a 
smooth  gradual  slope,  directly  towards  the  peak,  which,  from 
long  consultation  as  we  approached  the  mountain,  we  had  de- 
cided to  be  the  highest  of  the  range.  Pleased  with  the  dis- 
covery of  so  fine  a  road  for  the  next  day,  we  hastened  down  to 
the  camp,  where  we  arrived  just  in  time  for  supper.  Our 
table-service  was  rather  scant ;  and  we  held  the  meat  in  our 
hands,  and  clean  rocks  made  good  plates,  on  wHi  _  we  spread 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  97 

our  macaroni.  Among  all  the  strange  places  on  which  we 
had  occasion  to  encamp  during  our  long  journey,  none  have  left 
so  vivid  an  impression  on  my  mind  as  the  camp  of  this  even- 
ing. The  disorder  of  the  masses  which  surrounded  us — the 
little  hole  through  which  we  saw  the  stars  over  head — the  dark 
pines  where  we  slept — and  the  rocks  lit  up  with  the  glow  of 
our  fires,  made  a  night-picture  of  very  wild  beauty. 

13th. — The  morning  was  bright  and  pleasant,  just  cool 
enough  to  make  exercise  agreeable,  and  we  soon  entered  the 
defile  I  had  seen  the  preceding  day.  It  was  smoothly  carpeted 
with  soft  grass,  and  scattered  over  with  groups  of  flowers,  of 
which  yellow  was  the  predominant  color.  Sometimes  we  were 
forced,  by  an  occasional  difficult  pass,  to  pick  our  way  on  a 
narrow  ledge  along  the  side  of  the  defile,  and  the  mules  were 
frequently  on  their  knees  ;  but  these  obstructions  were  rare, 
and  we  journeyed  on  in  the  sweet  morning  air,  delighted  at 
our  good  fortune  in  having  found  such  a  beautiful  entrance  to 
the  mountains.  This  road  continued  for  about  three  miles, 
when  we  suddenly  reached  its  termination  in  one  of  the  grand 
views  which,  at  every  turn,  meet  the  traveler  in  this  magnifi- 
cent region.  Here  the  defile  up  which  we  had  traveled  open- 
ed out  into  a  small  lawn,  where,  in  a  little  lake,  the  stream 
had  its  source. 

There  were  some  fine  asters  in  bloom,  but  all  the  flowering 
plants  appeared  to  seek  the  shelter  of  the  rocks,  and  to  be  of 
lower  growth  than  below,  as  if  they  loved  the  warmth  of  the 
soil,  and  kept  out  of  the  way  of  the  winds.  Immediately  at 
our  feet,  a  precipitous  descent  led  to  a  confusion  of  defiles,  and 
before  us  rose  the  mountains,  as  we  have  represented  them  in 
the  annexed  view.  It  is  not  by  the  splendor  of  far-off  views, 
which  have  lent  such  a  glory  to  the  Alps,  that  these  impress 
the  mind  ;  but  by  a  gigantic  disorder  of  enormous  masses,  and 
a  savage  sublimity  of  naked  rock,  in  wonderful  contrast  with 
innumerable  green  spots  of  a  rich  floral  beauty,  shut  up  in 
their  stern  recesses.  Their  wildness  seems  well  suited  to 
the  character  of  the  people  who  inhabit  the  country. 

I  determined  to  leave  our  animals  here,  and  make  the  rest 
of  our  way  on  foot.  The  peak  appeared  so  near,  that  there 
5 


98  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [AUG. 

was  no  doubt  of  our  returning  before  night ;  and  a  few  men 
were  left  in  charge  of  the  mules,  with  our  provisions  and 
blankets.  We  took  with  us  nothing  but  our  arms  and  instru- 
ments, and,  as  the  day  had  become  warm,  the  greater  part 
left  our  coats.  Having  made  an  early  dinner,  we  started 
again.  We  were  soon  involved  in  the  most  ragged  precipices, 
nearing  the  central  chain  very  slowly,  and  rising  but  little. 
The  first  ridge  hid  a  succession  of  others ;  and  when,  with 
great  fatigue  and  difficulty,  we  had  climbed  up  five  hundred 
feet,  it  was  but  to  make  an  equal  descent  on  the  other  side ; 
all  these  intervening  places  were  filled  with  small  deep  lakes, 
which  met  the  eye  in  every  direction,  descending  from  one 
level  to  another,  sometimes  under  bridges  formed  by  huge 
fragments  of  granite,  beneath  which  was  heard  the  roar  of  the 
water.  These  constantly  obstructed  our  path,  forcing  us  to 
make  long  detours;  frequently  obliged  to  retrace  our  steps, 
and  frequently  falling  among  the  rocks.  Maxwell  was  pre- 
cipitated towards  the  face  of  a  precipice,  and  saved  himself 
from  going  over  by  throwing  himself  flat  on  the  ground.  We 
clambered  on,  always  expecting,  with  every  ridge  that  we 
crossed,  to  reach  the  foot  of  the  peaks,  and  always  disappointed, 
until  about  four  o'clock,  when,  pretty  well  worn  out,  we 
reached  the  shore  of  a  little  lake,  in  which  was  a  rocky  island. 
We  remained  here  a  short  time  to  rest,  and  continued  on 
around  the  lake,  which  had  in  some  places  a  beach  of  white 
sand,  and  in  others  was  bound  with  rocks,  over  which  the  way 
was  difficult  and  dangerous,  as  the  water  from  innumerable 
springs  made  them  very  slippery. 

By  the  time  we  had  reached  the  further  side  of  the  lake,  we 
found  ourselves  all  exceedingly  fatigued,  and,  much  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  whole  party,  we  encamped.  The  spot  we 
had  chosen  was  a  broad  flat  rock,  in  some  measure  protected 
from  the  winds  by  the  surrounding  crags,  and  the  trunks  of 
fallen  pines  afforded  us  bright  fires.  Near  by  was  a  foaming 
torrent,«which  tumbled  into  the  little  lake  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  below  us,  and  which,  by  way  of  distinction,  we 
have  called  Island  lake.  We  had  reached  the  upper  limit  of 
the  pmey  region ;  as,  above  this  point,  no  tree  was  to  be  seen, 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  99 

and  patches  of  snow  lay  everywhere  around  us,  on  the  cold 
sides  of  the  rocks.  The  flora  of  the  region  we  had  traversed 
since  leaving  our  mules  was  extremely  rich,  and,  among  the 
characteristic  plants,  the  scarlet  flowers  of  the  dodecatheon  den- 
tatum  everywhere  met  the  eye,  in  great  abundance.  A  small 
green  ravine,  on  the  edge  of  which  we  were  encamped,  was 
filled  with  a  profusion  of  alpine  plants,  in  brilliant  bloom. 
From  barometrical  observations,  made  during  our  three  days' 
sojourn  at  this  place,  its  elevation  above  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  is 
10,000  feet.  During  the  day,  we  had  seen  no  sign  of  animal 
life ;  but  among  the  rocks  here,  we  heard  what  was  supposed 
to  be  the  bleat  of  a  young  goat,  which  we  searched  for  with 
hungry  activity,  and  found  to  proceed  from  a  small  animal  of 
a  gray  color,  with  short  ears  and  no  tail — probably  the  Sibe- 
rian squirrel.  We  saw  a  considerable  number  of  them,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  bird  like  a  sparrow,  it  is  the  only 
inhabitant  of  this  elevated  part  of  the  mountains.  On  our 
return,  we  saw,  below  this  lake,  large  flocks  of  the  mountain- 
goat.  We  had  nothing  to  eat  to-night.  Lajeunesse,  with 
several  others,  took  their  guns,  and  sallied  out  in  search  of  a 
goat ;  but  returned  unsuccessful.  At  sunset,  the  barometer 
stood  at  20-522 ;  the  attached  thermometer  50°.  .  Here  we 
had  the  misfortune  to  break  our  thermometer,  having  now  only 
that  attached  to  the  barometer.  I  was  taken  ill  shortly  'after 
we  had  encamped,  and  continued  so  until  late  in  the  night, 
with  violent  headache  and  vomiting.  This  was  probably 
caused  by  the  excessive  fatigue  I  had  undergone,  and  want  of 
food,  and  perhaps,  also,  in  some  measure,  by  the  rarity  of  the 
air.  The  night  was  cold,  as  a  violent  gale  from  the  north  had 
sprung  up  at  sunset,  which  entirely  blew  away  the  heat  of  the 
fires.  The  cold,  and  our  granite  beds,  had  not  been  favorable 
to  sleep,  and  we  were  glad  to  see  the  face  of  the  sun  in  the 
morning.  Not  being  delayed  by  any  preparation  for  break- 
fast, we  set  out  immediately. 

On  every  side,  as  we  advanced,  was  heard  the  roar  of  waters, 
and  of  a  torrent,  which  we  followed  up  a  short  distance,  until 
it  expanded  into  a  lake  about  one  mile  in  length.  On  the 
northern  side  of  the  lake  was  a  bank  of  ice,  or  rather  of  snow 


100  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [AUG. 

covered  with  a  crust  of  ice.  Carson  had  been  our  guide  into 
the  mountains,  and,  agreeably  to  his  advice,  we  left  this  little 
valley,  and  took  to  the  ridges  again,  which  we  found  ex- 
tremely broken,  and  where  we  were  again  involved  among 
precipices.  Here  were  ice-fields ;  among  which  we  were  all 
dispersed,  seeking  each  the  best  path  to  ascend  the  peak. 
Mr.  Preuss  attempted  to  walk  along  the  upper  edge  of  one  of 
these  fields,  which  sloped  away  at  an  angle  of  about  twenty 
degrees;  but  his  feet  slipped  from  under  him,  and  he  went 
plunging  down  the  plain.  A  few  hundred  feet  below,  at 
the  bottom,  were  some  fragments  of  sharp  rock,  on  which  he 
landed  ;  and,  though  he  turned  a  couple  of  somersets,  fortu- 
nately received  no  injury  beyond  a  few  bruises.  Two  of  the 
men,  Clement  Lambert  and  Descoteaux,  had  been  taken  ill, 
and  lay  down  on  the  rocks,  a  short  distance  below ;  and  at  this 
point  I  was  attacked  with  headache  and  giddiness,  accompanied 
by  vomiting,  as  on  the  day  before.  Finding  myself  unable  to 
proceed,  I  sent  the  barometer  over  to  Mr.  Preuss,  who  was  in 
a  gap  two  or  three  hundred  yards  distant,  desiring  him  to  reach 
the  peak  if  possible,  and  take  an  observation  there.  He  found 
himself  unable  to  proceed  further  in  that  direction,  and  took  an 
observation,  where  the  barometer  stood  at  19-401 ;  attached  ther- 
mometer 50°,  in  the  gap.  Carson,  who  had  gone  over  to  him, 
succeeded  in  reaching  one  of  the  snowy  summits  of  the  main 
ridge,  whence  he  saw  the  peak  towards  which  all  our  efforts 
had  been  directed,  towering  eight  or  ten  hundred  feet  into  the 
air  above  him.  In  the  mean  time,  finding  myself  grow  rather 
worse  than  better,  and  doubtful  how  far  my  strength  would 
carry  me,  I  sent  Basil  Lajeunesse,  with  four  men,  back  to  the 
place  where  the  mules  had  been  left. 

We  were  now  better  acquainted  with  the  topography  of  the 
country,  and  I  directed  him  to  bring  back  with  him,  if  it  were 
in  any  way  possible,  four  or  five  mules,  with  provisions  and 
blankets.  With  me  were  Maxwell  andAyer;  and  after  we 
had  remained  nearly  an  hour  on  the  rock,  it  became  so  un- 
pleasantly cold,  though  the  day  was  bright,  that  we  set  out  on 
our  return  to  the  camp,  at  which  we  all  arrived  safely,  strag- 
gling in  one  after  the  other.  I  continued  ill  during  the  after- 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  101 

noon,  but  became  better  towards  sundown,  when  my  recovery 
was  completed  by  the  appearance  of  Basil  and  four  men,  all 
mounted.  The  men  who  had  gone  with  him  had  been  too 
much  fatigued  to  return,  and  were  relieved  by  those  in  charge 
of  the  horses ;  but  in  his  powers  of  endurance  Basil  resembled 
more  a  mountain-goat  than  a  man.  They  brought  blankets 
and  provisions,  and  we  enjoyed  well  our  dried  meat  and  a  cup 
of  good  coffee.  We  rolled  ourselves  up  in  our  blankets,  and, 
with  our  feet  turned  to  a  blazing  fire,  slept  soundly  until 
morning. 

15th. — It  had  been  supposed  that  we  had  finished  with  the 
mountains ;  and  the  evening  before  it  had  been  arranged  that 
Carson  should  set  out  at  daylight,  and  return  to  breakfast  at 
the  Camp  of  the  Mules,  taking  with  him  all  but  four  or  five 
men,  who  were  to  stay  with  me  and  bring  back  the  mules  and 
instruments.  Accordingly,  at  the  break  of  day  they  set  out. 
With  Mr.  Preuss  and  myself  remained  Basil  Lajeunesse,  Clem- 
ent Lambert,  Janisse,  and  Descoteaux.  When  we  had  se- 
cured strength  for  the  day  by  a  hearty  breakfast,  we  covered 
what  remained,  which  was  enough  for  one  meal,  with  rocks, 
in  order  that  it  might  be  safe  from  any  marauding  bird,  and, 
saddling  our  mules,  turned  our  faces  once  more  towards  the 
peaks.  This  time  we  determined  to  proceed  quietly  and 
cautiously,  deliberately  resolved  to  accomplish  our  object  if  it 
were  within  the  compass  of  human  means.  We  were  of  opin- 
ion that  a  long  defile  which  lay  to  the  left  of  yesterday's  route 
would  lead  us  to  the  foot  of  the  main  peak.  Our  mules  had 
been  refreshed  by  the  fine  grass  in  the  little  ravine  at  the 
Island  camp,  and  we  intended  to  ride  up  the  defile  as  far  as 
possible,  in  order  to  husband  our  strength  for  the  main  ascent. 
Though  this  was  a  fine  passage,  still  it  was  a  defile  of  the  most 
rugged  mountains  known,  and  we  had  many  a  rough  and  steep 
slippery  place  to  cross  before  reaching  the  end.  In  this  place 
the  sun  rarely  shone  ;  snow  lay  along  the  border  of  the  small 
stream  which  flowed  through  it,  and  occasional  icy  passages 
made  the  footing  of  the  mules  very  insecure,  and  the  rocks 
and  ground  were  moist  with  the  trickling  waters  in  this  spring 
cf  mighty  rivers.  We  soon  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  our- 


102  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [AUG. 

selves  riding  along  the  huge  wall  which  forms  the  central 
summits  of  the  chain.  There  at  last  it  rose  by  our  sides,  a 
nearly  perpendicular  wall  of  granite,  terminating  2,000  to 
3,000  feet  above  our  heads  in  a  serrated  line  of  broken,  jagged 
cones.  We  rode  on  until  we  came  almost  immediately  below 
the  main  peak,  which  I  denominated  the  Snow  peak,  as  it  ex- 
hibited more  snow  to  the  eye  than  any  of  the  neighboring  sum- 
mits. Here  were  three  small  lakes  of  a  green  color,  each, 
perhaps,  of  a  thousand  yards  in  diameter,  and  apparently  very 
deep.  These  lay  in  a  kind  of  chasm  ;  and,  according  to  the 
barometer,  we  had  attained  but  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the 
Island  lake.  The  barometer  here  stood  at  20-450,  attached 
thermometer  70°. 

We  managed  to  get  our  mules  up  to  a  little  bench  about  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  lakes,  where  there  was  a  patch  of  good 
grass,  and  turned  them  loose  to  graze.  During  our  rough  ride 
to  this  place,  they  had  exhibited  a  wonderful  surefootedness. 
Parts  of  the  defile  were  filled  with  angular,  sharp  fragments 
of  rock,  three  or  four  and  eight  or  ten  feet  cube ;  and  among 
these  they  had  worked  their  way,  leaping  from  one  narrow 
point  to  another,  rarely  making  a  false  step,  and  giving  us  no 
occasion  to  dismount.  Having  divested  ourselves  of  every 
unnecessary  encumbrance,  we  commenced  the  ascent.  This 
time,  like  experienced  travelers,  we  did  not  press  ourselves, 
but  climbed  leisurely,  sitting  down  so  soon  as  we  found  breath 
beginning  to  fail.  At  intervals  we  reached  places  where  a 
number  of  springs  gushed  from  the  rocks,  and  about  1800  feet 
above  the  lakes  came  to  the  snow  line.  From  this  point  our  pro- 
gress was  uninterrupted  climbing.  Hitherto  I  had  worn  a" 
pair  of  thick  moccasins,  with  soles  of  parfldche,  but  here  I  put 
on  a  light,  thin  pair,  which  I  had  brought  for  the  purpose,  as 
now  the  use  of  our  toes  became  necessary  to  a  further  ad- 
vance. I  availed  myself  of  a  sort  of  comb  of  the  mountain, 
which  stood  against  the  wall  like  a  buttress,  and  which  the 
wind  and  the  solar  radiation,  joined  to  the  steepness  of  the 
smooth  rock,  had  kept  almost  entirely  free  from  snow.  Up 
this  I  made  my  way  rapidly.  Our  cautious  method  of  ad- 
vancing at  the  outset  had  spared  my  strength ;  and,  with  the 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  103 

exception  of  a  slight  disposition  to  headache,  I  felt  no  remains 
of  yesterday's  illness.  In  a  few  minutes  we  reached  a  point 
where  the  buttress  was  overhanging,  and  there  was  no  other 
way  of  surmounting  the  difficulty  than  by  passing  around  one 
iide  of  it,  which  was  the  face  of  a  vertical  precipice  of  several 
hundred  feet. 

Putting  hands  and  feet  in  the  crevices  between  the  blocks,  I 
succeeded  in  getting  over  it,  and,  when  I  reached  the  top, 
found  my  companions  in  a  small  valley  below.  Descending 
to  them,  we  continued  climbing,  and  in  a  short  time  reached 
the  crest.  I  sprang  upon  the  summit,  and  another  step  would 
have  precipitated  me  into  an  immense  snow-field  five  hundred 
feet  below.  To  the  edge  of  this  field  was  a  sheer  icy  preci- 
pice ;  and  then,  with  a  gradual  fall,  the  field  sloped  off  for 
about  a  mile,  until  it  struck  the  foot  of  another  lower  ridge. 
I  stood  on  a  narrow  crest,  about  three  feet  in  width,  with  an 
inclination  of  about  20°  N.  51°  E.  As  soon  as  I  had  gratified 
the  first  feelings  of  curiosity,  I  descended,  and  each  man  as- 
cended in  his  turn ;  for  I  would  only  allow  one  at  a  time  to 
mount  the  unstable  and  precarious  slab,  which  it  seemed  a 
breath  would  hurl  into  the  abyss  below.  We  mounted  the 
barometer  in  the  snow  of  the  summit,  and,  fixing  a  ramrod  in 
a  crevice,  unfurled  the  national  flag  to  wave  in  the  breeze 
where  never  flag  waved  before.  During  our  morning's  ascent, 
we  had  met  no  sign  of  animal  life,  except  the  small  sparrow- 
like  bird  already  mentioned.  A  stillness  the  most  profound 
and  a  terrible  solitude  forced  themselves  constantly  on  the 
mind  as  the  great  features  of  the  place.  Here,  on  the  sum- 
mit, where  the  stillness  was  absolute,  unbroken  by  any  sound, 
and  solitude  complete,  we  thought  ourselves  beyond  the  region 
of  animated  life  ;  but  while  we  were  sitting  on  the  rock,  a 
solitary  bee  (bromus,  the  humble-bee)  came  winging  his  flight 
from  the  eastern  valley,  and  lit  on  the  knee  of  one  of  the 
men. 

It  was  a  strange  place,  the  icy  rock  and  the  highest  peak 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  for  a  lover  of  warm  sunshine  and 
flowers ;  and  we  pleased  ourselves  with  the  idea  that  he  was 
the  first  of  his  species  to  cross  the  mountain  barrier-^-a  solitary 


104  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [AUG. 

pioneer  to  foretell  the  advance  of  civilization.  1  believe  thai 
a  moment's  thought  would  have  made  us  let  him  continue  his 
way  unharmed ;  but  we  carried  out  the  law  of  this  country, 
where  all  animated  nature  seems  at  war;  and,  seizing  him 
immediately,  put  him  in  at  least  a  fit  place — in  the  leaves  of  a 
large  book,  among  the  flowers  we  had  collected  on  our  way. 
The  barometer  stood  at  18*293,  the  attached  thermometer  at 
44°  ;  giving  for  the  elevation  of  this  summit  13,570  feet  above 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  which  may  be  called  the  highest  flight 
of  the  bee.  It  is  certainly  the  highest  known  flight  of  that 
insect.  From  the  description  given  by  Mackenzie  of  the 
mountains  where  he  crossed  them,  with  that  of  a  French 
officer  still  farther  to  the  north,  and  Colonel  Long's  measure- 
ments to  the  south,  joined  to  the  opinion  of  the  oldest  traders 
of  the  country,  it  is  presumed  that  this  is  the  highest  peak  of 
the  Rocky  mountains.  The  day  was  sunny  and  bright,  but  a 
slight  shining  mist  hung  over  the  lower  plains,  which  interfered 
with  our  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  On  one  side  we 
overlooked  innumerable  lakes  and  streams,  the  spring  of  the 
Colorado  of  the  Gulf  of  California ;  and  on  the  other  was  the 
Wind  River  valley,  where  were  the  heads  of  the  Yellowstone 
branch  of  the  Missouri;  far  to  the  north,  we  could  just  dis- 
cover the  snowy  heads  of  the  Trois  Tetons,  where  were  the 
sources  of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  rivers;  and  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  ridge,  the  peaks  were  plainly  visible, 
among  which  were  some  of  the  springs  of  the  Nebraska  or 
Platte  river.  Around  us,  the  whole  scene  had  one  main, 
striking  feature,  which  was  that  of  terrible  convulsion.  Paral- 
lel to  its  length,  the  ridge  was  split  into  chasms  and  fissures ; 
between  which  rose  the  thin  lofty  walls,  terminated  with  slender 
minarets  and  columns.  According  to  the  barometer,  the  little 
crest  of  the  wall  on  which  we  stood  was  three  thousand  five 
hundred  and  seventy  feet  above  that  place,  and  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  eighty  above  the  little  lakes  at  the  bottom, 
immediately  at  our  feet.  Our  camp  at  the  Two  Hills  (an  as- 
tronomical station)  bore  south  3°  east,  which,  with  a  bearing 
afterwards  obtained  from  a  fixed  position,  enabled  us  to  locate 
the  peak.  The  bearing  of  the  Trois  Tetons  was  north  50° 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  105 

west,  and  the  direction  of  the  central  ridge  of  the  Wind  River 
mountains  south  39°  east.  The  summit  rock  was  gneiss,  suc- 
ceeded by  sienitic  gneiss.  Sienite  and  feldspar  succeeded  in 
our  descent  to  the  snow  line,  where  we  found  a  feldspathic 
granite.  I  had  remarked  that  the  noise  produced  by  the  ex- 
plosion  of  our  pistols  had  the  usual  degree  of  loudness,  but 
was  not  in  the  least  prolonged,  expiring  almost  instanta- 
neously. 

Having  now  made  what  observations  our  means  afforded,  we 
proceeded  to  descend.  We  had  accomplished  an  object  of 
laudable  ambition,  and  beyond  the  strict  order  of  our  instruc- 
tions. We  had  climbed  the  loftiest  peak  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  looked  down  upon  the  snow  a  thousand  feet  below ; 
and,  standing  where  never  human  foot  had  stood  before,  felt 
the  exultation  of  first  explorers.  It  was  about  two  o'clock 
when  we  left  the  summit,  and  when  we  reached  the  bottom,  the 
sun  had  already  sunk  behind  the  wall,  and  the  day  was  draw- 
ing to  a  close.  It  would  have  been  pleasant  to  have  lingered 
here  and  on  the  summit  longer ;  but  we  hurried  away  as  rapidly 
as  the  ground  would  permit,  for  it  was  an  object  to  regain  our 
party  as  soon  as  possible,  not  knowing  what  accident  the  next 
hour  might  bring  forth. 

We  reached  our  deposite  of  provisions  at  nightfall.  Here 
was  not  the  inn  which  awaits  the  tired  traveler  on  his  return 
from  Mont  Blanc,  or  the  orange  groves  of  South  America, 
with  their  refreshing  juices  and  soft  fragrant  air ;  but  we  found 
our  little  cache  of  dried  meat  and  coffee  undisturbed.  Though 
the  moon  was  bright,  the  road  was  full  of  precipices,  and  the 
fatigue  of  the  day  had  been  great.  We  therefore  abandoned 
the  idea  of  rejoining  our  friends,  and  lay  down  on  the  rock, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  cold,  slept  soundly. 

16th. — We  left  our  encampment  with  the  daylight.  We 
saw  on  our  way  large  flocks  of  the  mountain -goat  looking 
down  on  us  from  the  cliffs.  At  the  crack  of  the  rifle,  they 
would  bound  off  among  the  rocks,  and  in  a  few  minutes  make 
their  appearance  on  some  lofty  peak,  some  hundred  or  a  thou- 
sand feet  above.  It  is  needless  to  attempt  any  further  descrip- 
tion of  the  country ;  the  portion  over  which  we  traveled  this 
5* 


106  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Am*. 

morning  was  rough  as  imagination  could  picture  it,  and  to  us 
seemed  equally  beautiful.  A  concourse  of  lakes  and  rushing 
waters — mountains  of  rocks  naked  and  destitute  of  vegetable 
earth — dells  and  ravines  of  the  most  exquisite  beauty,  all  kept 
green  and  fresh  by  the  great  moisture  in  the  air,  and  sown 
with  brilliant  flowers,  and  everywhere  thrown  around  all  the 
glory  of  most  magnificent  scenes, — these  constitute  the  features 
of  the  place,  and  impress  themselves  vividly  on  the  mind  of 
the  traveler.  It  was  not  until  11  o'clock  that  we  reached  the 
place  where  our  animals  had  been  left,  when  we  first  attempted 
the  mountains  on  foot.  Near  one  of  the  still  burning  fires  we 
found  a  piece  of  meat,  which  our  friends  had  thrown  away, 
and  which  furnished  us  a  mouthful — a  very  scanty  breakfast. 
We  continued  directly  on,  and  reached  our  camp  on  the  moun- 
tain lake  at  dusk.  We  found  all  well.  Nothing  had  occurred 
to  interrupt  the  quiet  since  our  departure,  and  the  fine  grass 
and  good  cool  water  had  done  much  to  re-establish  our  animals. 
All  heard  with  great  delight  the  order  to  turn  our  faces  home- 
ward;  and  towards  sundown  of  the  17th,  we  encamped  again 
at  the  Two  Buttes. 

In  the  course  of  this  afternoon's  march,  the  barometer  was 
broken  past  remedy.  I  regretted  it,  as  I  was  desirous  to  com- 
pare it  again  with  Dr.  Engleman's  barometers  at  St.  Louis, 
to  which  mine  were  referred ;  but  it  had  done  its  part  well, 
and  my  objects  were  mainly  fulfilled. 

19th. — We  left  our  camp  on  Little  Sandy  river  about  seven 
in  the  morning,  and  traversed  the  same  sandy,  undulating 
country.  The  air  was  filled  with  the  turpentine  scent  of  the 
various  artemisias,  which  are  now  in  bloom,  and,  numerous  as 
they  are,  give  much  gayety  to  the  landscape  of  the  plains. 
At  ten  o'clock,  we  stood  exactly  on  the  divide  in  the  pass, 
where  the  wagon-road  crosses ;  and,  descending  immediately 
upon  the  Sweet  Water,  halted  to  take  a  meridian  observation 
of  the  sun.  The  latitude  was  42°  24'  32". 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  we  saw  buffalo  again,  and  at 
our  evening  halt  on  the  Sweet  Water  the  roasted  ribs  again 
made  their  appearance  around  the  fires ;  and,  with  them,  good 
humor,  and  laughter  and  song,  were  restored  to  the  camp. 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  107 

Our  coffee  had  been  expended,  but  we  now  made  a  kind  of  tea 
from  the  roots  of  the  wild-cherry  tree. 

23d. — Yesterday  evening  we  reached  our  encampment  at 
Ilock  Independence,  where  I  took  some  astronomical  observa- 
tions. Here,  not  unmindful  of  the  custom  of  early  travelers 
and  explorers  in  our  country,  I  engraved  on  this  rock  of  the 
Far  West  a  symbol  of  the  Christian  faith.  Among  the  thickly 
inscribed  names,  I  made  on  the  hard  granite  the  impression  of 
a  large  cross,  which  I  covered  with  a  black  preparation  of 
India-rubber,  well  calculated  to  resist  the  influence  of  wind 
and  rain.  It  stands  amidst  the  names  of  many  who  have  long 
since  found  their  way  to  the  grave,  and  for  whom  the  huge 
rock  is  a  giant  gravestone. 

One  George  Weymouth  was  seat  out  to  Maine  by  the 
Earl  of  Southampton,  Lord  Arundel,  and  others;  and  in  the 
narrative  of  their  discoveries,  he  says :  "  The  next  day  we 
ascended  in  our  pinnace  that  part  of  the  river  which  lies  more 
to  the  westward,  carrying  with  us  a  cross — a  thing  never 
omitted  by  any  Christian  traveler — which  we  erected  at  the 
ultimate  end  of  our  route."  This  was  in  the  year  1605  ;  and 
in  1842  I  obeyed  the  feeling  of  early  travelers,  and  left  the 
impression  of  the  cross  deeply  engraved  on  the  vast  rock  one 
thousand  miles  beyond  the  Mississippi,  to  which  discoverers 
have  given  the  national  name  of  Rock  Independence. 

In  obedience  to  rny  instructions  to  survey  the  river  Platte, 
if  possible,  I  had  determined  to  make  an  attempt  at  this  place. 
The  India-rubber  boat  was  filled  with  air,  placed  in  the  water, 
and  loaded  with  what  was  necessary  for  our  operations ;  and  I 
embarked  with  Mr.  Preuss  and  a  party  of  men.  When  we 
had  dragged  our  boat  a  mile  or  two  over  the  sands,  I  abandoned 
the  impossible  undertaking,  and  waited  for  the  arrival  of  the 
party,  when  we  packed  up  our  boat  and  equipage,  and  at  nine 
o'clock  were  again  moving  along  on  our  land  journey.  We 
continued  along  the  valley  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Sweet 
Water,  where  the  formation,  as  already  described,  consists  of 
a  grayish  micaceous  sandstone,  and  fine-grained  conglomerate, 
and  marl.  We  passed  over  a  ridge  which  borders  or  consti- 
tutes the  river  hills  of  the  Platte,  consisting  of  huge  blocks, 


108  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Auo, 

sixty  or  eighty  feet  cube,  of  decomposing  granite.  The  cement 
which  united  them  was  probably  of  easier  decomposition,  and 
has  disappeared  and  left  them  isolate,  and  separated  by  small 
spaces.  Numerous  horns  of  the  mountain-goat  were  lying 
among  the  rocks;  and  in  the  ravines  were  cedars,  whose 
trunks  were  of  extraordinary  size.  From  this  ridge  we 
descended  to  a  small  open  plain,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sweet 
Water,  which  rushed  with  a  rapid  current  into  the  Platte, 
here  flowing  along  in  a  broad  and  apparently  deep  stream, 
which  seemed,  from  its  turbid  appearance,  to  be  considerably 
swollen.  I  obtained  here  some  astronomical  observations,  and 
the  afternoon  was  spent  in  getting  our  boat  ready  for  naviga- 
tion the  next  day. 

24th. — We  started  before  sunrise,  intending  to  breakfast  at 
Goat  island.  I  had  directed  the  land  party,  in  charge  of  Ber- 
nier,  to  proceed  to  this  place,  where  they  were  to  remain,  should 
they  find  no  note  to  apprize  them  of  our  having  passed.  In 
the  event  of  receiving  this  information,  they  were  to  continue 
their  route,  passing  by  certain  places  which  had  been  desig- 
nated. Mr.  Preuss  accompanied  me,  and  with  us  were  five 
of  my  best  men,  viz. :  C.  Lambert,  Basil  Lajeunesse,  Honore 
Ayot,  Benoist,  and  Descoteaux.  Here  appeared  no  scarcity 
of  water,  and  we  took  on  board,  with  various  instruments  and 
baggage,  provisions  for  ten  or  twelve  days.  We  paddled  down 
the  river  rapidly,  for  our  little  craft  was  light  as  a  duck  on  the 
water ;  and  the  sun  had  been  some  time  risen,  when  we  heard 
before  us  a  hollow  roar,  which  we  supposed  to  be  that  of  a  fall, 
of  which  we  had  heard  a  vague  rumor,  but  whose  exact  locality 
no  one  had  been  able  to  describe  to  us.  We  were  approach- 
ing a  ridge,  through  which  the  river  passes  by  a  place  called 
"  canon,"  (pronounced  kanyon,) — a  Spanish  word,  signifying  a 
piece  of  artillery,  the  barrel  of  a  gun,  or  any  kind  of  tube ; 
and  which,  in  this  country,  has  been  adopted  to  describe  the 
passage  of  a  river  between  perpendicular  rocks  of  great  height, 
which  frequently  approach  each  other  so  closely  overhead  as 
to  form  a  kind  of  tunnel  over  the  stream,  which  foams  along  be- 
low, half  choked  up  by  fallen  fragments.  Between  the  mouth 
of  the  Sweet  Water  and  Goat  island,  there  is  probably  a  fall 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARBATIVE.  100 

of  three  hundred  feet,  and  that  was  principally  made  in  the 
canons  before  us ;  as,  without  them,  the  water  was  compara- 
tively smooth.  As  we  neared  the  ridge,  the  river  made  a 
sudden  turn,  and  swept  squarely  down  against  one  of  the  walls 
of  the  canon,  with  great  velocity,  and  so  steep  a  descent  that  it 
had,  to  the  eye,  the  appearance  of  an  inclined  plane.  When 
we  launched  into  this,  the  men  jumped  overboard,  to  check  the 
velocity  of  the  boat ;  but  were  soon  in  water  up  to  their  necks, 
and  our  boat  ran  on.  But  we  succeeded  in  bringing  her  to  a 
small  point  of  rocks  on  the  right,  at  the  mouth  of  the  canon. 
Here  was  a  kind  of  elevated  sand-beach,  not  many  yards 
square,  backed  by  the  rocks ;  and  around  the  point  the  river 
swept  at  a  right  angle.  Trunks  of  trees  deposited  on  jutting 
points,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  above,  and  other  marks,  showed 
that  the  water  here  frequently  rose  to  a  considerable  height. 
The  ridge  was  of  the  same  decomposing  granite  already  men- 
tioned, and  the  water  had  worked  the  surface,  in  many  places, 
into  a  wavy  surface  of  ridges  and  holes.  We  ascended  the 
rocks  to  reconnoitre  the  ground,  and  from  the  summit  the  pas- 
sage appeared  to  be  a  continued  cataract,  foaming  over  many 
obstructions,  and  broken  by  a  number  of  small  falls.  We  saw 
nowhere  a  fall  answering  to  that  which  had  been  described  to 
us  as  having  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet ;  but  still  concluded 
this  to  be  the  place  in  question,  as,  in  the  season  of  floods,  the 
rush  of  the  river  against  the  wall  would  produce  a  great  rise ; 
and  the  waters,  reflected  squarely  off,  would  descend  through 
the  passage  in  a  sheet  of  foam,  having  every  appearance  of  a 
large  fall.  Eighteen  years  previous  to  this  time,  as  I  have 
subsequently  learned  from  himself,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  somewhere 
above  on  this  river,  had  embarked  with  a  valuable  cargo  of 
beaver.  Unacquainted  with  the  stream,  which  he  believed 
would  conduct  him  safely  to  the  Missouri,  he  came  unexpect- 
edly into  this  canon,  where  he  was  wrecked,  with  the  total  loss 
of  his  furs.  It  would  have  been  a  work  of  great  time  and 
labor  to  pack  our  baggage  across  the  ridge,  and  I  determined 
to  run  the  canon.  We  all  again  embarked,  and  at  first 
attempted  to  check  the  way  of  the  boat ;  but  the  water  swept 
through  with  so  much  violence  that  we  narrowly  escaped  being 


Ill;  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Arc. 

swamped,  and  were  obliged  to  let  her  go  in  the  full  force  of 
the  current,  and  trust  to  the  skill  of  the  boatmen.  The  dan- 
gerous  places  in  this  canon  were  where  huge  rocks  had  fallen 
from  above,  and  hemmed  in  the  already  narrow  pass  of  the 
river  to  an  open  space  of  three  or  four  and  five  feet.  These 
obstructions  raised  the  water  considerably  above,  which  was 
sometimes  precipitated  over  in  a  fall ;  and  at  other  places, 
where  this  dam  was  too  high,  rushed  through  the  contracted 
opening  with  tremendous  violence.  Had  our  boat  been  made 
of  wood,  in  passing  the  narrows  she  would  have  been  staved ; 
but  her  elasticity  preserved  her  unhurt  from  every  shock,  and 
she  seemed  fairly  to  leap  over  the  falls. 

In  this  way  we  passed  three  cataracts  in  succession,  where 
perhaps  100  feet  of  smooth  water  intervened;  and,  finally, 
with  a  shout  of  pleasure  at  our  success,  issued  from  our  tun- 
nel  into  the  open  day  beyond.  We  were  so  delighted  with  the 
performance  of  our  boat,  and  so  confident  in  her  powers,  that 
we  would  not  have  hesitated  to  leap  a  fall  often  feet  with  her. 
We  put  to  shore  for  breakfast  at  some  willows  on  the  right 
bank,  immediately  below  the  mouth  of  the  canon ;  for  it  was 
now  eight  o'clock,  and  we  had  been  working  since  daylight, 
and  were  all  wet,  fatigued,  and  hungry.  While  the  men  were 
preparing  breakfast,  I  went  out  to  reconnoitre.  The  view  was 
very  limited.  The  course  of  the  river  was  smooth,  so  far  as  I 
could  see ;  on  both  sides  were  broken  hills ;  and  but  a  mile  or 
two  below  was  another  high  ridge.  The  rock  at  the  mouth 
of  the  canon  was  still  the  decomposing  granite,  with  great 
quantities  of  mica,  which  made  a  very  glittering  sand. 

We  re-embarked  at  nine  o'clock,  and  in  about  twenty  min- 
utes reached  the  next  canon.  Landing  on  a  rocky  shore  at  its 
commencement,  we  ascended  the  ridge  to  reconnoitre.  Port- 
age was  out  of  the  question.  So  far  as  we  could  see,  the  jag- 
ged rocks  pointed  out  the  course  of  the  canon,  on  a  winding 
line  of  seven  or  eight  miles.  It  was  simply  a  narrow,  dark 
chasm  in  the  rock ;  and  here  the  perpendicular  faces  were 
much  higher  than  in  the  previous  pass,  being  at  this  end  two 
to  three  hundred,  and  further  down,  as  we  afterwards  ascer- 
tained, five  hundred  feet  in  vertical  height.  Our  previous 


1H42.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  ill 

success  had  made  us  bold,  and  we  determined  again  to  run 
the  canon.  Every  thing  was  secured  as  firmly  as  possible  ; 
and  having  divested  ourselves  of  the  greater  part  of  our  cloth- 
ing,  we  pushed  into  the  stream.  To  save  our  chronometer 
from  accident,  Mr.  Preuss  took  it,  and  attempted  to  proceed 
along  the  shore  on  the  masses  of  rock,  which  in  places  were 
piled  up  on  either  side ;  but,  after  he  had  walked  about  five 
minutes,  every  thing  like  shore  disappeared,  and  the  vertical 
wall  came  squarely  down  into  the  water.  He  therefore  wait- 
ed until  we  came  up.  An  ugly  pass  lay  before  us.  We  had 
made  fast  to  the  stern  of  the  boat  a  strong  rope  about  fifty  feet 
long ;  and  three  of  the  men  clambered  along  among  the  rockss 
and  with  this  rope  let  her  slowly  through  the  pass.  In  several 
places  high  rocks  lay  scattered  about  in  the  channel ;  and  in 
the  narrows  it  required  all  our  strength  and  skill  to  avoid  sta- 
ving the  boat  on  the  sharp  points.  In  one  of  these,  the  boat 
proved  a  little  too  broad,  and  stuck  fast  for  an  instant,  while 
the  water  flew  over  us ;  fortunately,  it  was  but  for  an  instant, 
as  our  united  strength  forced  her  immediately  through.  The 
water  swept  overboard  only  a  sextant  and  a  pair  of  saddle- 
bags. I  caught  the  sextant  as  it  passed  by  me ;  but  the  sad- 
dle-bags became  the  prey  of  the  whirlpools.  We  reached  the 
place  where  Mr.  Preuss  was  standing,  took  him  on  board,  and, 
with  the  aid  of  the  boat,  put  the  men  with  the  rope  on  the  suc- 
ceeding pile  of  rocks.  We  found  this  passage  much  worse 
than  the  previous  one,  and  our  position  was  rather  a  bad  one. 
To  go  back  was  impossible ;  Before  us,  the  cataract  was  a 
sheet  of  foam ;  and  shut  up  in  the  chasm  by  the  rocks,  which, 
in  some  places,  seemed  almost  to  meet  overhead,  the  roar  of 
the  water  was  deafening.  We  pushed  off  again ;  but,  after 
making  a  little  distance,  the  force  of  the  current  became  too 
great  for  the  men  on  shore,  and  two  of  them  let  go  the  rope. 
Lajeunesse,  the  third  man,  hung  on,  and  was  jerked  headfore- 
most into  the  river  from  a  rock  about  twelve  feet  high ;  and 
down  the  boat  shot  like  an  arrow,  Basil  following  us  in  the 
rapid  current,  and  exerting  all  his  strength  to  keep  in  mid 
channel — his  head  only  seen  occasionally  like  a  black  spot  in 
the  white  foam.  How  far  we  went,  I  do  not  exactly  know ; 


112  CAPT.    FREMONT'S   NARRATIVE.  [AlTG. 

but  we  succeeded  in  turning  the  boat  into  an  eddy  below. 
"  'Cre  Dieu"  said  Basil  Lajeunesse,  as  he  arrived  immediate- 
ly  after  us,  "  Je  crois  bien  que  fai  nage  un  demi  mile."  He 
had  owed  his  life  to  his  skill  as  a  swimmer,  and  I  determined 
to  take  him  and  the  two  others  on  board,  and  trust  to  skill  and 
fortune  to  reach  the  other  end  in  safety.  We  placed  ourselves 
on  our  knees  with  the  short  paddles  in  our  hands,  the  most 
skilful  boatman  being  at  the  bow ;  and  again  we  commenced 
our  rapid  descent.  We  cleared  rock  after  rock,  and  shot  past 
fall  after  fall,  our  little  boat  seeming  to  play  with  the  cataract 
We  became  flushed  with  success,  and  familiar  with  the  danger ; 
and,  yielding  to  the  excitement  of  the  occasion,  broke  forth  into 
a  Canadian  boat-song.  Singing,  or  rather  shouting,  we  dash- 
ed along,  and  were,  I  believe,  in  the  midst  of  the  chorus,  when 
the  boat  struck  a  concealed  rock  immediately  at  the  foot  of  a 
fall,  which  whirled  her  over  in  an  instant.  Three  of  my  men 
could  not  swim,  and  my  first  feeling  was  to  assist  them,  and 
save  some  of  our  effects ;  but  a  sharp  concussion  or  two  con- 
vinced me  that  I  had  not  yet  saved  myself.  A  few  strokes 
brought  me  into  an  eddy,  and  I  landed  on  a  pile  of  rocks  on 
the  left  side.  Looking  around,  I  saw  that  Mr.  Preuss  had 
gained  the  shore  on  the  same  side,  about  twenty  yards  below ; 
and  a  little  climbing  and  swimming  soon  brought  him  to  my 
side.  On  the  opposite  side,  against  the  wall,  lay  the  boat  bot- 
tom up ;  and  Lambert  was  in  the  act  of  saving  Descoteaux, 
whom  he  had  grasped  by  the  hair,  and  who  could  not  swim ; 
"  Ldche  pas,"  said  he,  as  I  Afterwards  learned,  "  lache  pas, 
cher  frere."  "  Grains  pas"  was  the  reply :  "je  rrCen  vais 
mourir  avant  que  de  te  lacker."  Such  was  the  reply  of  cour- 
age and  generosity  in  this  danger.  For  a  hundred  yards  be- 
low the  current  was  covered  with  floating  books  and  boxes, 
bales  and  blankets,  and  scattered  articles  of  clothing ;  and  so 
strong  and  boiling  was  the  stream,  that  even  our  heavy  in- 
struments, which  were  all  in  cases,  kept  on  the  surface,  and  the 
sextant,  circle,  and  the  long  black  box  of  the  telescope,  were 
in  view  at  once.  For  a  moment,  I  felt  somewhat  dishearten- 
ed. All  our  books — almost  every  record  of  the  journey— our 
journals  and  registers  of  astronomical  and  barometrical  obser- 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  113 

vations — had  been  lost  in  a  moment.  But  it  was  no  time  to 
indulge  in  regrets ;  and  I  immediately  set  about  endeavoring  to 
save  something  from  the  wreck.  Making  ourselves  understood 
as  well  as  possible  by  signs,  (for  nothing  could  be  heard  in 
the  roar  of  the  waters,)  we  commenced  our  operations.  Of 
every  thing  on  board,  the  only  article  that  had  been  saved  was 
my  double-barreled  gun,  which  Descoteaux  had  caught  and 
clung  to  with  drowning  tenacity.  The  men  continued  down 
the  river  on  the  left  bank.  Mr.  Preuss  and  myself  descended 
on  the  side  we  were  on ;  and  Lajeunesse,  with  a  paddle  in  his 
hand,  jumped  on  the  boat  alone,  and  continued  down  the  can- 
on.  She  was  now  light,  and  cleared  every  bad  place  with 
much  less  difficulty.  In  a  short  time  he  was  joined  by  Lam- 
bert, and  the  search  was  continued  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half, 
which  was  as  far  as  the  boat  could  proceed  in  the  pass. 

Here  the  walls  were  about  five  hundred  feet  high,  and  the 
fragments  of  rocks  from  above  had  choked  the  river  into  a  hol- 
low pass,  but  one  or  two  feet  above  the  surface.  Through 
this  and  the  interstices  of  the  rock,  the  water  found  its  way. 
Favored  beyond  our  expectations,  all  of  our  registers  had  been 
recovered,  with  the  exception  of  one  of  my  journals,  which 
contained  the  notes  and  incidents  of  travel,  and  topographical 
descriptions,  a  number  of  scattered  astronomical  observations, 
principally  meridian  altitudes  of  the  sun,  and  our  barometri- 
cal register  west  of  Laramie.  Fortunately,  our  other  journals 
contained  duplicates  of  the  most  important  barometrical  obser- 
vations which  had  been  taken  in  the  mountains.  These,  with 
a  few  scattered  notes,  were  all  that  had  been  preserved  of  our 
meteorological  observations.  In  addition  to  these,  we  saved 
the  circle  ;•  and  these,  with  a  few  blankets,  constituted  every 
thing  that  had  been  rescued  from  the  waters. 

The  day  was  running  rapidly  away,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  reach  Goat  island,  whither  the  party  had  preceded  us,  be- 
fore night.  In  this  uncertain  country,  the  traveler  is  so  much 
in  the  power  of  chance,  that  we  became  somewhat  uneasy  in 
regard  to  them.  Should  any  thing  have  occurred,  in  the  brief 
interval  of  our  separation,  to  prevent  our  rejoining  them,  our 
situation  would  be  rather  a  desperate  one.  We  had  not  a 


114  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Auo. 

morsel  of  provisions — our  arms  and  ammunition  were  gone — and 
we  were  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  any  straggling  party  of  sav- 
ages, and  not  a  little  in  danger  of  starvation.  We  therefore 
set  out  at  once  in  two  parties,  Mr.  Preuss  and  myself  on  the 
left,  and  the  men  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  Climbing 
out  of  the  canon,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  very  broken  country, 
where  we  were  not  yet  able  to  recognise  any  locality.  In  the 
course  of  our  descent  through  the  canon,  the  rocks,  which  at 
the  upper  end  was  of  the  decomposing  granite,  changed  into  a 
varied  sandstone  formation.  The  hills  and  points  of  the  ridges 
«vere  covered  with  fragments  of  a  yellow  sandstone,  of  which 
the  strata  were  sometines  displayed  in  the  broken  ravines 
which  interrupted  our  course,  and  made  our  walk  extremely 
fatiguing.  At  one  point  of  the  canon  the  red  argillaceous  sand- 
stone rose  in  a  wall  of  five  hundred  feet,  surmounted  by  a 
stratum  of  white  sandstone ;  and  in  an  opposite  ravine  a  col- 
umn of  red  sandstone  rose,  in  form  like  a  steeple,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  The  scenery  was  extremely  pic- 
turesque, and  notwithstanding  our  forlorn  condition,  we  were 
frequently  obliged  to  stop  and  admire  it.  Our  progress  was 
not  very  rapid.  We  had  emerged  from  the  water  half  naked, 
and,  on  arriving  at  the  top  of  the  precipice,  I  found  myself 
with  only  one  moccasin.  The  fragments  of  rock  made  walk- 
ing painful,  and  I  was  frequently  obliged  to  stop  and  pull  out 
the  thorns  of  the  cactus,  here  the  prevailing  plant,  and  with 
which  a  few  minutes'  walk  covered  the  bottoms  of  my  feet. 
From  this  ridge  the  river  emerged  into  a  smiling  prairie,  and, 
descending  to  the  bank  for  water,  we  were  joined  by  Benoist. 
The  rest  of  the  party  were  out  of  sight,  having  taken  a  more 
inland  route.  We  crossed  the  river  repeatedly — sometimes 
able  to  ford  it,  and  sometimes  swimming — climbed  over  the 
ridges  of  two  more  canons,  and  towards  evening  reached  the 
cut,  which  we  here  named  the  Hot  Spring  gate.  On  our  pre- 
vious visit  in  July,  we  had  not  entered  this  pass,  reserving  it 
for  our  descent  in  the  boat ;  and  when  we  entered  it  this  even- 
ing, Mr.  Preuss  was  a  few  hundred  feet  in  advance.  Heated 
with  the  long  march,  he  came  suddenly  upon  a  fine  bold  spring 
gushing  from  the  rock,  about  ten  feet  above  the  river.  Eager 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  115 

to  enjoy  the  crystal  water,  he  threw  himself  down  fo  [  a  hasty 
draught,  and  took  a  mouthful  of  water  almost  boiling  hot.  He 
said  nothing  to  Benoist,  who  laid  himself  down  to  di  ink  ;  but 
the  steam  from  the  water  arrested  his  eagerness,  and  he  es- 
caped the  hot  draught.  We  had  no  thermometer  to  ascertain 
the  temperature,  but  I  could  hold  my  hand  in  the  water  just 
long  enough  to  count  two  seconds.  There  are  eight  or  ten  of 
these  springs  discharging  themselves  by  streams  large  enough 
to  be  called  runs.  A  loud  hollow  noise  was  heard  from  the 
rock,  which  I  supposed  to  be  produced  by  the  fall  of  water. 
The  strata  immediately  where  they  issue  is  a  fine  white  and 
calcareous  sandstone,  covered  with  an  incrustation  of  common 
salt.  Leaving  this  Thermopylae  of  the  west,  in  a  short  walk 
we  reached  the  red  ridge  which  has  been  described  as  lying 
just  above  Goat  island.  Ascending  this,  we  found  some  fresh 
tracks  and  a  button,  which  showed  that  the  other  men  had  al- 
ready arrived.  A  shout  from  the  man  who  first  reached  the 
top  of  the  ridge,  responded  to  from  below,  informed  us  that  our 
friends  were  all  on  the  island;  and  we  were  soon  among  them. 
We  found  some  pieces  of  buffalo  standing  around  the  fire  for 
us,  and  managed  to  get  some  dry  clothes  among  the  people. 
A  sudden  storm  of  rain  drove  us  into  the  best  shelter  we  could 
find,  where  we  slept  soundly,  after  one  of  the  most  fatiguing 
days  I  have  ever  experienced. 

25th. — Early  this  morning  Lajeunesse  was  sent  to  the  wreck 
for  the  articles  which  had  been  saved,  and  about  noon  we  left 
the  island.  The  mare  which  we  had  left  here  in  July  had 
much  improved  in  condition,  and  she  served  us  well  again  for 
some  time,  but  was  finally  abandoned  at  a  subsequent  part  of 
the  journey.  At  10  in  the  morning  of  the  26th  we  reached 
Cache  camp,  where  we  found  every  thing  undisturbed.  We 
disinterred  our  deposite,  arranged  our  carts  which  had  been 
left  here  on  the  way  out ;  and,  traveling  a  few  miles  in  the 
afternoon,  encamped  for  the  night  at  the  ford  of  the  Platte. 

27th. — At  mid-day  we  halted  at  the  place  where  we  had 
taken  dinner  on  the  27th  of  July.  The  country  which,  when 
we  passed  up,  looked  as  if  the  hard  winter  frosts  had  passed 
over  it,  had  now  assumed  a  new  face,  so  much  of  vernal  fresh- 


116  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Aua. 

ness  had  been  given  to  it  by  the  rains.  The  Platte  was  ex- 
ceedingly  low — a  mere  line  of  water  among  the  sandbars.  We 
reached  Laramie  fort  on  the  last  day  of  August,  after  an 
absence  of  forty-two  days,  and  had  the  pleasure  to  find  our 
friends  all  well.  The  fortieth  day  had  been  fixed  for  our  re- 
turn ;  and  the  quick  eyes  of  the  Indians,  who  were  on  the 
lookout  for  us,  discovered  our  flag  as  we  wound  among  the 
hills.  The  fort  saluted  us  with  repeated  discharges  of  its 
single  piece,  which  we  returned*  with  scattered  volleys  of  our 
small-arms,  and  felt  the  joy  of  a  home  reception  in  getting 
back  to  this  remote  station,  which  seemed  so  far  off  as  we 
went  out. 


SEPTEMBER. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d  September  we  bade  adieu  to  our 
kind  friends  at  the  fort,  and  continued  our  homeward  journey 
down  the  Platte,  which  was  glorious  with  the  autumnal  splen- 
dor of  innumerable  flowers  in  full  and  brilliant  bloom.  On 
the  warm  sands,  among  the  helianthi,  one  of  the  characteristic 
plants,  we  saw -great  numbers  of  rattlesnakes,  of  which  five 
or  six  were  killed  in  the  morning's  ride.  We  occupied  our- 
selves in  improving  our  previous  survey  of  the  river ;  and,  as 
the  weather  was  fine,  astronomical  observations  were  generally 
made  at  night  and  at  noon. 

We  halted  for  a  short  time  on  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  with 
a  village  of  Sioux  Indians,  some  of  whose  chiefs  we  had  met 
at  Laramie.  The  water  in  the  Platte  was  exceedingly  low ; 
in  many  places,  the  large  expanse  of  sands,  with  some  oc- 
casional stunted  tree  on  its  banks,  gave  it  the  air  of  the  sea- 
coast  ;  the  bed  of  the  river  being  merely  a  succession  of  sand- 
bars, among  which  the  channel  was  divided  into  rivulets  of  a 
few  inches  deep.  We  crossed  and  recrossed  with  our  carts 
repeatedly  and  at  our  pleasure  ;  and,  whenever  an  obstruction 
barred  our  way  in  the  shape  of  precipitous  bluffs  that  came 
down  upon  the  river,  we  turned  directly  into  it,  and  made  our 


1842.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  117 

way  along  the  sandy  bed,  with  no  other  inconvenience  than 
the  frequent  quicksands,  which  greatly  fatigued  our  animals. 
Disinterring  on  the  way  the  cache  which  had  been  made  by 
our  party  when  they  ascended  the  river,  we  reached  without 
accident,  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  September,  our  old 
encampment  of  the  2d  of  July,  at  the  junction  of  the  forks. 
Our  cache  of  the  barrel  of  pork  was  found  undisturbed,  and 
proved  a  seasonable  addition  to  our  stock  of  provisions.  At 
this  place  I  had  determined  to  make  another  attempt  to  descend 
the  Platte  by  water,  and  accordingly  spent  two  days  in  the 
construction  of  a  bull  boat.  Men  were  sent  out  on  the  evening 
of  our  arrival,  the  necessary  number  of  bulls  killed,  and  their 
skins  brought  to  the  camp.  Four  of  the  best  of  them  were 
strongly  sewed  together  with  buffalo  sinew,  and  stretched  over 
a  basket  frame  of  willow.  The  seams  were  then  covered  with 
ashes  and  tallow,  and  the  boat  left  exposed  to  the  sun  for  the 
greatei  part  of  one  day,  which  was  sufficient  to  dry  and  con- 
tract the  skin,  and  make  the  whole  work  solid  and  strong.  It 
had  a  rounded  bow,  was  eight  feet  long  and  five  broad,  and 
drew  with  four  men  about  four  inches  water.  On  the  morning 
of  the  15th  we  embarked  in  our  hide  boat,  Mr.  Preuss  and 
myself,  with  two  men.  We  dragged  her  over  the  sands  for 
three  or  four  miles,  arfd  then  left  her  on  a  bar,  and  abandoned 
entirely  all  further  attempts  to  navigate  this  river.  The  names 
given  by  the  Indians  are  always  remarkably  appropriate ;  and 
certainly  none  was  ever  more  so  than  that  which  they  have 
given  to  this  stream — "  The  Nebraska,  or  Shallow  river." 
Walking  steadily  the  remainder  of  the  day,  a  little  before  dark 
we  overtook  our  people  at  their  remaining  camp,  about  twenty- 
one  miles  below  the  junction.  The  next  morning  we  crossed 
the  Platte,  and  continued  our  way  down  the  river  bottom  on 
the  left  bank,  where  we  found  an  excellent,  plainly- beaten 
road. 

On  the  18th  we  reached  Grand  Island,  which  is  fifty-two 
miles  long,  with  an  average  breadth  of  one  mile  and  three- 
quarters.  It  has  on  it  some  small  eminences,  and  is  sufficiently 
elevated  to  be  secure  from  the  annual  floods  of  the  river.  As 
has  been  already  remarked,  it  is  well  timbered,  with  an  excel- 


118        CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.       [SEPT. 

lent  soil,  and  recommends  itself  to  notice  as  the  best  point  for 
a  military  position  on  the  Lower  Platte. 

On  the  22d  we  arrived  at  the  village  of  the  Grand  Paw- 
nees,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  about  thirty  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Loup  fork.  They  were  gathering  in  their 
corn,  and  we  obtained  from  them  a  very  welcome  supply  of 
vegetables. 

The  morning  of  the  24th  we  reached  the  Loup  fork  of  the 
Platte.  At  the  place  where  we  forded  it,  this  stream  was  four 
hundred  and  thirty  yards  broad,  with  a  swift  current  of  clear 
water ;  in  this  respect,  differing  from  the  Platte,  which  has  a 
yellow  muddy  color,  derived  from  the  limestone  and  marl  for- 
mation, of  which  we  have  previously  spoken.  The  ford  was 
difficult,  as  the  water  was  so  deep  that  it  came  into  the  body 
of  the  carts,  and  we  reached  the  opposite  bank  after  repeated 
attempts,  ascending  and  descending  the  bed  of  the  river,  in 
order  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  bars.  We  encamped  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  fork,  in  the  point  of  land  at  its  junction  with 
the  Platte.  During  the  two  days  that  we  remained  here  for 
astronomical  observations,  the  bad  weather  permitted  us  to  ob- 
tain but  one  good  observation  for  the  latitude — a  meridian  alti- 
tude of  the  sun,  which  gave  for  the  latitude  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Loup  fork,  41°  22'  11". 

Five  or  six  days  previously,  I  had  sent  forward  C.  Lambert, 
with  two  men,  to  Bellevue,  with  directions  to  ask  from  Mr.  P. 
Sarpy,  the  gentleman  in  charge  of  the  American  Company's 
establishment  at  that  place,  the  aid  of  his  carpenters  in  con- 
structing a  boat,  in  which  I  proposed  to  descend  the  Missouri. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  27th  we  met  one  of  the  men,  who  had 
been  dispatched  by  Mr.  Sarpy  with  a  welcome  supply  of  pro- 
visions and  a  very  kind  note,  which  gave  us  the  very  gratify- 
ing intelligence  that  our  boat  was  in  rapid  progress.  On  the 
evening  of  the  30th  we  encamped  in  an  almost  impenetrable 
undergrowth  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Platte,  in  the  point  of  land 
at  its  confluence  with  the  Missouri — 315  miles,  according  to 
our  reckoning,  from  the  junction  of  the  forks,  and  520  from 
Fort  Laramie.  From  the  junction  we  had  found  the  bed  of 
the  Platte  occupied  with  numerous  islands,  many  of  them 


1842.]  CA*T.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  119 

very  large,  and  all  well  timbered ;  possessing,  as  well  as  the 
bottom  lands  of  the  river,  a  very  excellent  soil.  With  the 
exception  of  some  scattered  groves  on  the  banks,  the  bottoms 
are  generally  without  timber.  A  portion  of  these  consist  of 
low  grounds,  covered  with  a  profusion  of  fine  grasses,  and  are 
probably  inundated  in  the  spring ;  the  remaining  part  is  high 
river  prairie,  entirely  beyond  the  influence  of  the  floods.  The 
breadth  of  the  river  is  usually  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  except 
where  it  is  enlarged  by  islands.  That  portion  of  its  course 
which  is  occupied  by  Grand  island  has  an  average  breadth, 
from  shore  to  shore,  of  two  and  a  half  miles. 


OCTOBER. 

1st. — I  rose  this  morning  long  before  daylight,  and  heard 
with  a  feeling  of  pleasure  the  tinkling  of  cow- bells  at  the  set- 
tlements on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Missouri.  Early  in  the 
day  we  reached  Mr.  Sarpy's  residence ;  and,  in  the  security 
and  comfort  of  his  hospitable  mansion,  felt  the  pleasure  of 
being  within  the  pale  of  civilization.  We  found  our  boat  on 
the  stocks ;  a  few  days  sufficed  to  complete  her ;  and,  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  4th,  we  embarked  on  the  Missouri.  All  our 
equipage — horses,  carts,  and  the  materiel  of  the  camp— had 
been  sold  at  public  auction  at  Bellevue.  The  strength  of  my 
party  enabled  me  to  man  the  boat  with  ten  oars,  relieved  every 
hour ;  and  we  descended  rapidly.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
the  10th,  we  halted  to  make  some  astronomical  observations 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas,  exactly  four  months  since  we  had 
left  the  trading-post  of  Mr.  Cyprian  Chouteau,  on  the  same 
river,  ten  miles  above.  On  our  descent  to  this  place,  we  had 
employed  ourselves  in  surveying  and  sketching  the  Missouri, 
making  astronomical^observations  regularly  at  night  and  at 
mid-day,  whenever  the  weather  permitted.  These  operations 
on  the  river  were  continued  until  our  arrival  at  the  city  of  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  on  the  17th.  At  St.  Louis,  the  sale  of  our 


120  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

remaining  effects  was  made  ;  and,  leaving  that  city  oy  steam- 
boat  on  the  18th,  I  had  the  honor  to  report  to  you  at  the  city 
of  Washington  on  the  29th  of  October. 

Very  respectfully,  sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  C.  FREMONT, 
2d  Lieutenant  Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers. 


ASTRONOMICAL  OBSERVATIONS 

The  Longitudes  given  in  the  subjoined  Table  are  referred  to  the 
meridian  of  Greenwich. 

For  the  determination  of  astronomical  positions,  we  were 
provided  with  the  following  instruments  : 

One  telescope,  magnifying  power  120. 

One  circle,  by  Gambey,  Paris. 

One  sextant,  by  Gambey,  Paris. 

One  sextant,  by  Troughton. 

One  box  chronometer,  No.  7,810,  by  French. 

One  Brockbank  pocket  chronometer. 

One  small  watch  with  a  light  chronometer  balance,  No. 
4,632,  by  Arnold  and  Dent. 

The  rate  of  the  chronometer,  7,810,  is  exhibited  in  the  fol- 
lowing statement : 

«  NEW  YORK,  May  5,  1842 

"  Chronometer  No.  7,810,  by  French,  is  this  day  at  noon — 
"  Slow  of  Greenwich  mean  time,         -         -         -         11'  4" 
"  Fast  of  New  York  mean  time,          -         -  4k.  45'  1" 

"  Loses  per  day, 2".7 

"  ARTHUR  STEWART,  74  Merchants'  Exchange." 

An  accident  among  some  rough  ground  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Kansas  river,  strained  the  balance  of  this  chronometer, 
(No.  7,810,)  and  rendered  it  useless  during  the  remainder  of 
the  campaign.  From  the  9th  of  June  to  the  24th  of  August, 
inclusively,  the  longitudes  depend  upon  the  Brockbank  pocket 
chronometer ;  the  rate  of  which,  on  leaving  St.  Louis,  was 


1842.] 


CAPT.  FREMONT'S 


121 


fouiteen  seconds.     The  rate  obtained  by  observations  at  Fort 
Laramie,  14X/.05,  has  been  used  in  calculation. 

From  the  24th  of  August  until  the  termination  of  the  jour- 
ney, No.  4,632  (of  which  the  rate  was  35".79)  was  used  for 
the  same  purposes.  The  rate  of  this  watch  was  irregular,  and 
I  place  little  confidence  in  the  few  longitudes  which  depend 
upon  it,  though,  so  far  as  we  have  any  means  of  judging,  they 
appear  tolerably  correct. 

Table  of  Latitudes  and  Longitudes,  deduced  from  Observations 
made  during  the  Journey. 


Date. 

Station. 

Latitude. 

Longitude. 

1842. 
Mav  27 

Def.  min.  sec. 
38    37    34 

Dtg.  min.  tec. 

June  8 
16 
18 

Chouteau's  lower  trading-post,  Kansas  river,  
Left  bank  of  Kansas  river,  7  miles  above  the  ford, 

39    05    57 
39    06    40 
39    15    19 

94    25    46 
95    38    05 
96    04    07 

96     14    49 

20 

39    45    08 

96    32    35 

25 

40    26    50 

98    22    12 

n    41     Ofi 

98    45    49 

27 

Right  bank  of  Plane  river,  

40    39    32 

99    05    24 

28 
30 

Right  bank  of  Platte  river,  

40    39    51 
40    39    55 

100    05    47 

July    2 

Junction  of  north  and  south  forks  of  the  Nebraska 

41    05    05 

100    49    43 

or  rlatte  mer, 

H  ft    t  P  !        rlver'  *ett  njlnKi 

40    51    17 

103    07 

7 

40    53    26 

103    30    37 

40    22    35 

105     12    12 

12 

South  fork  of  Platte  river,  fot.  Vram  s   or  , 

40    41    59 

104    57    49 

'                   i, 

41    08    30 

104    39    37 

Un  a  stream,  name  unknown, 

41     40    ]3 

104    24    36 

16 

Port  Laramie,  near  the  mouth  of  Lararnie's  fork,. 

42    12    10 

42    39    25 

104    47    43 
104    59    59 

04 

42    47    40 

25 
26 

North  fork  of  Platte  river,  Dried  Meat  camp,  

42    51     35 
42    50    08 

105    50    45 

26 

00 

Vorth  fork  of  Platte  river,  mouth  of  Deer  creek,  .  - 

42    52    24 
42    50    53 

106    08    24 
106    38    26 

i\ortn  '°™  °i.  p       j  rfvcr,  cacne  camp, 

49    38    oi 

106    54    32 

v°rth  lork  ot  rlatt  .  river,  lett  nann 

42    33    27 

107    13    29 

Vng.   1 

Sweet  Water  river,  one  mile  below  Rock  Inde- 

42    29    56 

107    25    23 

42    32    31 

108    30    n 

7 

42    27    15 

109    21    32 

8 

Little  Sandy  creek,  tributary  to  the  Colorado  of 
the  West,  

42    27    34 

109    37    59 

9 

New  fork,  tributary  to  the  Colorado,  

42    42    46 
42    49    49 

109    58    11 
110    08    03 

15 

Highest  peak  of  the  Wind  River  mountains,  

42    24    32 

19 

Sweet  Water  river,  

42    22    22 
42    31    46 

22 

Sweet  Water  river,  noon  halt,  

42    26    10 
42    29    36 

23 
30 

North  fork  of  Platte  river,  mouth  of  Sweet  Water, 

42    27    18 
42    24    24 

122  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE. 

Table  of  Latitudes  and  Longitudes — Continued. 


L1842. 


Date. 

Station. 

Latitude. 

Longitude. 

1842. 
Sept    3 

Def.  min.  itc. 
42    01     40 

Deg.  min.  tec 

5 

North  fork  of  Platte  river,  near  Scott's  bluffs,  
North  fork  of  Platte  river,  right  bank,  six  miles 

41    54    38 
41    43    36 

8 
9 

North  fork  of  Platte  river,  mouth  of  Ash  creek,.  .  . 

41    17     19 
41    14    30 

10 

North  fork  of  Platte  river  Cedar  bluffs      .    .... 

41    10     16 

16 

40    54    31 

16 

40    52    34 

17 

40    42    38 

18 

40    40    21 

riatie  river,  leu    *in£' 

40    39    44 

20 

riatte  river,  Jen  "^n*> 

40    48     1Q 

20 

40    54    02 

21 

41     05    37 

23 

41    20    20 

23 

41    22    52 

25 

41    22    11 

28 

41     09    34 

29 

4j^  02    15 

Oct.     2 
4 

Bellevue,  at  the  post  of  the-American  Fur  Com- 
pany, right  bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  
Left  bank  of  the  Missouri,  opposite  to  the  right 

41    08    24 
41    02    11 

95    20 

5 

40    34    08 

• 

40    27    08 

6 

g 

Missouri  river,  mouth  of  Nishnabatona  river,  

40    16    40 
39    36    02 

10 

Missouri  river,  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river,  

39    06    03 

I 


A  REPORT 

OF 

THE  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION 

TO 

OREGON  AND  NORTH  CALIFORNIA, 

IN  THE  YEARS  1843-;44. 


WASHINGTON  CITY,  March  1,  1845 
To  Colonel  J.  J.  ABERT,  Chief  of  the  Corps  oj  Top.  Engineers : 

SIR  : — In  pursuance  of  your  instructions,  to  connect  the  re- 
connoisance  of  1842,  which  I  had  the  honor  to  conduct,  with  the 
surveys  of  Commander  Wilkes  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific 
ocean,  so  as  to  give  a  connected  survey  of  the  interior  of  our 
continent,  I  proceeded  to  the  Great  West  early  in  the  spring 
of  1843,  and  arrived,  on  the  17th  of  May,  at  the  little  town  of 
Kansas,  on  the  Missouri  frontier,  near  the  junction  of  the  Kan- 
sas river  with  the  Missouri  river,  where  I  was  detained  near 
two  weeks  in  completing  the  necessary  preparations  for  the 
extended  explorations  which  my  instructions  contemplated. 

My  party  consisted  principally  of  Creole  and  Canadian 
French,  and  Americans,  amounting  in  all  to  thirty-nine  men ; 
among  whom  you  will  recognise  several  of  those  who  were 
with  me  in  my  first  expedition,  and  who  have  been  favorably 
brought  to  your  notice  in  a  former  report.  Mr.  Thomas  Fitz- 
patrick,  whom  many  years  of  hardship  and  exposure,  in  the 
western  territories,  had  rendered  familiar  with  a  portion  of  the 
country  it  was  designed  to  explore,  had  been  selected  as  our 
guide ;  and  Mr.  Charles  Preuss,  who  had  been  my  assistant  in 
a  previous  journey,  was  again  associated  with  me  in  the  same 
capacity,  on  the  present  expedition.  Agreeably  to  your  direc- 
tions, Mr.  Theodore  Talbot,  of  Washington  city,  had  been 


124  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAY, 

attached  to  the  party,  with  a  view  to  advancement  in  his  pro- 
fession ;  and  at  St.  Louis  I  had  been  joined  by  Mr.  Frederick 
Dwight,  a  gentleman  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  who  availed 
himself  of  our  overland  journey  to  visit  the  Sandwich  Islands 
and  China,  by  way  of  Fort  Vancouver. 

The  men  engaged  for  the  service  were  :  Alexis  Ayot,  Fran- 
cis Badeau,  Oliver  Beaulieu,  Baptiste  Bernier,  John  A.  Camp- 
bell, John  G.  Campbell,  Manuel  Chapman,  Ransom  Clark, 
Philibert  Courteau,  Michel  Crelis,  William  Creuss,  Clinton 
Deforest,  Baptiste  Derosier,  Basil  Lajeunesse,  Franpois  Lajeu- 
nesse,  Henry  Lee,  Louis  Menard,  Louis  Montreuil,  Samuel 
Neal,  Alexis  Pera,  Fra^ois  Pera,  James  Power,  Raphael 
Proue,  Oscar  Sarpy,  Baptiste  Tabeau,  Charles  Taplin,  Bap- 
tiste Tesson,  Auguste  Vasquez,  Joseph  Verrot,  Patrick  White, 
Tiery  Wright,  Louis  Zindel,  and  Jacob  Dodson,  a  free  young 
colored  man  of  Washington  city,  who  volunteered  to  accom- 
pany the  expedition,  and  performed  his  duty  manfully  through- 
out the  voyage.  Two  Delaware  Indians — a  fine-looking  old 
man  and  his  son — were  engaged  to  accompany  the  expedition 
as  hunters,  through  the  kindness  of  Major  Cummins,  the  excel- 
lent Indian  agent.  L.  Maxwell,  who  had  accompanied  the 
expedition  as  one  of  the  hunters  in  1842,  being  on  his  way  tc 
Taos.  in  New  Mexico,  also  joined  us  at  this  place. 

The  party  was  generally  armed  with  Hall's  carbines,  which 
with  a  brass  twelve-pound  howitzer,  had  been  furnished  to  me 
from  the  United  States  arsenal  at  St.  Louis,  agreeably  to  the 
orders  of  Colonel  S.  W.  Kearney,  commanding  the  third  mili- 
tary division.  Three  men  were  especially  detailed  for  the 
management  of  this  piece,  under  the  charge  of  Louis  Zindel,  a 
native  of  Germany,  who  had  been  nineteen  years  a  non-com- 
missioned officer  of  artillery  in  the  Prussian  army,  and  regu- 
larly instructed  in  the  duties  of  his  profession.  The  camp 
equipage  and  provisions  were  transported  in  twelve  carts, 
drawn  each  by  two  mules  ;  and  a  light  covered  wagon,  mounted 
on  good  springs,  had  been  provided  for  the  safer  carriage  of 
instruments.  These  were  : 

One  refracting  telescope,  by  Frauenhofer. 

One  reflecting  circle,  by  Gambey. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  125 

Two  sextants,  by  Troughton. 

One  pocket  chronometer,  No.  837,  by  Goffe,  Falmouth. 

One  pocket  chronometer,  No.  739,  by  Brockbank. 

One  syphon  barometer,  by  Bunten,  Paris. 

One  cistern  barometer,  by  Frye  and  Shaw,  New  York. 

Six  thermometers,  and  a  number  of  small  compasses. 

To  make  the  exploration  as  useful  as  possible,  I  determined, 
in  conformity  to  your  general  instructions,  to  vary  the  route  to 
the  Rocky  mountains  from  that  followed  in  1842.  The  route 
was  then  up  the  valley  of  the  Great  Platte  river  to  the  South 
Pass,  in  north  latitude  42° ;  the  route  now  determined  on  was 
up  the  valley  of  the  Kansas  river,  and  to  the  head  of  the  Ar- 
kansas river,  and  to  some  pass  in  the  mountains,  if  any  could 
be  found,  at  the  sources  of  that  river. 

By  making  this  deviation  from  the  former  route,  the  problem 
of  a  new  road  to  Oregon  and  California,  in  a  climate  more 
genial,  might  be  solved ;  and  a  better  knowledge  obtained  of 
an  important  river,  and  the  country  it  drained,  while  the  great 
object  of  the  expedition  would  find  its  point  of  commencement 
at  the  termination  of  the  former,  which  was  at  that  great  gate 
in  the  ridge  of  the  Rocky  mountains  called  the  South  Pass,  and 
on  the  lofty  peak  of  the  mountain  which  overlooks  it,  deemed 
the  highest  peak  in  the  ridge,  and  from  the  opposite  side  of 
which  four  great  rivers  take  their  rise,  and  flow  to  the  Pacific 
or  the  Mississippi. 

Various  obstacles  delayed  our  departure  until  the  morning 
of  the  29th,  when  we  commenced  our  long  voyage  ;  and  at 
the  close  of  a  day,  rendered  disagreeably  cold  by  incessant 
rain,  encamped  about  four  miles  beyond  the  frontier,  on  the 
verge  of  the  great  prairies. 

Resuming  our  journey  on  the  31st,  after  the  delay  of  a  day 
to  complete  our  equipment  and  furnish  ourselves  with  some  of 
the  comforts  of  civilized  life,  we  encamped  in  the  evening  at 
Elm  Grove,  in  company  with  several  emigrant  wagons,  con. 
stituting  a  party  which  was  proceeding  to  Upper  California, 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Childs,  of  Missouri.  The 
wagons  were  variously  freighted  with  goods,  furniture,  and 
farming  utensils,  containing  among  other  things  an  entire  set 


126  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAY, 

of  machinery  for  a  mill  which  Mr.  Childs  designed  erecting 
on  the  waters  of  the  Sacramento  river,  emptying  into  the  bay 
of  San  Francisco. 

We  were  joined  here  by  Mr.  Wm.  Gilpin  of  Mo.-,  who,  in- 
tending  this  year  to  visit  the  settlements  in  Oregon,  had  been 
invited  to  accompany  us,  and  proved  a  useful  and  agreeable 
addition  to  the  party. 


JUNE- 

From  Elm  Grove,  our  route  until  the  third  of  June  was 
nearly  the  same  as  that  described  to  you  in  1842.  Trains  of 
wagons  were  almost  constantly  in  sight ;  giving  to  the  road  a 
populous  and  animated  appearance,  although  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  emigrants  were  collected  at  the  crossing,  or  already 
on  their  march  beyond  the  Kansas  river.  Leaving  at  the  ford 
the  usual  emigrant  road  to  the  mountains,  we  continued  our 
route  along  the  southern  side  of  the  Kansas,  where  we  found 
the  country  much  more  broken  than  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  river,  and  where  our  progress  was  much  delayed  by  the 
numerous  small  streams,  which  obliged  us  to  make  frequent 
bridges.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th  we  crossed  a  handsome 
stream,  called  by  the  Indians  Otter  creek,  about  130  feet  wide, 
where  a  flat  stratum  of  limestone,  which  forms  the  bed,  made 
an  excellent  ford.  We  met  here  a  small  party  of  Kansas  and 
Delaware  Indians,  the  latter  returning  from  a  hunting  and 
trapping  expedition  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  river ;  and  on 
the  heights  above  were  five  or  six  Kansas  women,  engaged  in 
digging  prairie  potatoes,  (psoralea  esculenta.)  On  the  after- 
noon of  the  6th,  whilst  busily  engaged  in  crossing  a  wooded 
stream,  we  were  thrown  into  a  little  confusion  by  the  sudden 
arrival  of  Maxwell,  who  entered  the  camp  at  full  speed  at  the 
head  of  a  war  party  of  Osage  Indians,  with  gay  red  blankets, 
and  heads  shaved  to  the  scalp  lock.  They  had  run  him  a 
distance  of  about  nine  miles,  from  a  creek  on  which  we  had 
encamped  the  day  previous,  and  to  which  he  had  return*^  JQ 


H43.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  127 

search  of  a  runaway  horse  belonging  to  Mr.  Dwight,  which 
had  taken  the  homeward  road,  carrying  with  him  saddle, 
bridle,  and  holster-pistols.  The  Osages  were  probably  igno- 
rant of  jur  strength,  and,  when  they  charged  into  the  camp, 
drove  off  a  number  of  our  best  horses  ;  but  we  were  fortunately 
well  mounted,  and,  after  a  hard  chase  of  seven  or  eight  miles, 
succeeded  in  recovering  them  all.  This  accident,  which  oc- 
casioned delay  and  trouble,  and  threatened  danger  and  loss, 
and  broke  down  some  good  horses  at  the  start,  and  actually 
endangered  the  expedition,  was  a  first  fruit  of  having  gentle- 
men in  company — very  estimable,  to  be  sure,  but  who  are  not 
trained  to  the  care  and  vigilance  and  self-dependence  which 
such  an  expedition  required,  and  who  are  not  subject  to  the 
orders  which  enforce  attention  and  exertion.  We  arrived  on 
the  8th  at  the  mouth  of  the  Smoky-hill  fork,  which  is  the  prin- 
cipal southern  branch  of  the  Kansas ;  forming  here,  by  its 
junction  with  the  Republican,  or  northern  branch,  the  main 
Kansas  river.  Neither  stream  was  fordable,  and  the  necessity 
of  making  a  raft,  together  with  bad  weather,  detained  us  here 
until  the  morning  of  the  llth  ;  when  we  resumed  our  journey 
along  the  Republican  fork.  By  our  observations,  the  junction 
of  the  streams  is  in  lat.  39°  30'  38",  long.  96°  24'  36",  and 
at  an  elevation  of  926  feet  above  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  For 
several  days  we  continued  to  travel  along  the  Republican, 
through  a  country  beautifully  watered  with  numerous  streams, 
and  handsomely  timbered ;  and  rarely  an  incident  occurred  to 
vary  the  monotonous  resemblance  which  one  day  on  the  prairies 
here  bears  to  another,  and  which  scarcely  require  a  particular 
description.  Now  and  then,  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  small 
herd  of  elk  ;  and  occasionally  a  band  of  antelopes,  whose 
curiosity  sometimes  brought  them  within  rifle  range,  would 
circle  round  us  and  then  scour  off  into  the  prairies.  As  we 
advanced  on  our  road,  these  became  more  frequent ;  but  as 
we  journeyed  on  the  line  usually  followed  by  the  trapping  and 
hunting  parties  of  the  Kansas  and  Delaware  Indians,  game  of 
every  kind  continued  very  shy  and  wild.  The  bottoms  which 
form  the  immediate  valley  of  the  main  river  were  generally 
about  three  miles  wide ;  having  a  rich  soil  of  black  vegetable 


128  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

mould,  and,  for  a  prairie  country,  well  interspersed  with  wood. 
The  country  was  everywhere  covered  with  a  considerable 
variety  of  grasses,  occasionally  poor  and  thin,  but  far  more 
frequently  luxuriant  and  rich.  We  had  been  gradually  and 
regularly  ascending  in  our  progress  westward,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  14th,  when  we  encamped  on  a  little  creek  in 
the  valley  of  the  Republican,  265  miles  by  our  traveling  road 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas,  we  were  at  an  elevation  of 
1,520  feet.  That  part  of  the  river  where  we  were  now  en- 
camped is  called  by  the  Indians  the  Big  Timber.  Hitherto  our 
route  had  been  laborious  and  extremely  slow,  the  unusually 
wet  spring  and  constant  rain  having  so  saturated  the  whole 
country  that  it  was  necessary  to  bridge  every  water-course, 
and,  for  days  together,  our  usual  march  averaged  only  five  or 
six  miles.  Finding  that  at  such  a  rate  of  travel  it  would  be 
impossible  to  comply  with  your  instructions,  I  determined  at 
this  place  to  divide  the  party,  and,  leaving  Mr.  Fitzpatrick 
with  twenty-five  men  in  charge  of  the  provisions  and  heavier 
baggage  of  the  camp,  to  proceed  myself  in  advance,  with  a 
light  party  of  fifteen  men,  taking  with  me  the  howitzer  and  the 
light  wagon  which  carried  the  instruments. 

Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  the  parties  sepa- 
rated :  and,  bearing  a  little  out  from  the  river,  with  a  view  of 
heading  some  of  .the  numerous  affluents,  after  a  few  hours' 
travel  over  somewhat  broken  ground,  we  entered  upon  an  ex- 
tensive and  high  level  prairie,  on  which  we  encamped  towards 
evening  at  a  little  stream,  where  a  single  dry  cottonwood  af- 
forded the  necessary  fuel  for  preparing  supper.  Among  a 
variety  of  grasses  which  to-day  made  their  first  appearance,  I 
noticed  bunch-grass,  (festuca,)  and  buffalo-grass,  (sesleria  dac- 
tyloides.)  Amorpha  canescens  (lead plant)  continued  the  char- 
acteristic plant  of  the  country,  and  a  narrow-leaved  lathyrus 
occurred  during  the  morning,  in  beautiful  patches.  Sida  cocci- 
nea  occurred  frequently,  with  a  psoralea  near  psoralea  floribun- 
da,  and  a  number  of  plants  not  hitherto  met,  just  verging  into 
bloom.  The  water  on  which  we  had  encamped  belonged  to 
Solomon's  fork  of  the  Smoky-hill  river,  along  whose  tributaries 
we  continued  to  travel  for  several  days. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  129 

The  country  afforded  us  an  excellent  road,  the  route  being 
generally  over  high  and  very  level  prairies;  and  we  met  with 
no  other  delay  than  being  frequently  obliged  to  bridge  one  of  the 
numerous  streams,  which  were  well  timbered  with  ash,  elm, 
cottonwood,  and  a  very  large  oak — the  latter  being  occasion- 
ally five  and  six  feet  in  diameter,  with  a  spreading  summit. 
Sida  coccinea  is  very  frequent  in  vermilion-colored  patches  on 
the  high  and  low  prairie ;  and  I  remarked  that  it  has  a  very 
pleasant  perfume. 

The  wild  sensitive  plant  (schrankia  angustata)  occurs  fre- 
quently, generally  on  the  dry  prairies,  in  valleys  of  streams, 
and  frequently  on  the  broken  prairie  bank.  I  remark  that 
the  leaflets  close  instantly  to  a  very  light  touch.  Amorpha, 
with  the  same  psoralea,  and  a  dwarf  species  of  lupinus,  are  the 
characteristic  plants. 

On  the  1 9th,  in  the  afternoon,  we  crossed  the  Pawnee  road 
to  the  Arkansas,  and  traveling  a  few  miles  onward,  the  mo- 
notony of  the  prairies  was  suddenly  dispelled  by  the  appear- 
ance of  five  or  six  buffalo  bulls,  forming  a  vanguard  of  im- 
mense herds,  among  which  we  were  traveling  a  few  days  af- 
terwards. Prairie  dogs  were  seen  for  the  first  time  during 
the  day ;  and  we  had  the  good  fortune  to  obtain  an  antelope 
for  supper.  Our  elevation  had  now  increased  to  1,900  feet. 
Sida  coccinea  was  the  characteristic  on  the  creek  bottoms,  and 
buffalo  grass  is  becoming  abundant  on  the  higher  parts  of  the 
ridges. 

21st. — During  the  forenoon  we  traveled  up  a  branch  of  the 
creek  on  which  we  had  encamped,  in  a  broken  country,  where, 
however,  the  dividing  ridges  always  afforded  a  good  road. 
Plants  were  few ;  and  with  the  short  sward  of  the  buffalo- 
grass,  which  now  prevailed  everywhere,  giving  to  the  prai- 
ries a  smooth  and  mossy  appearance,  were  mingled  frequent 
patches  of  a  beautiful  red  grass,  (aristida  pallens,)  which  had 
made  its  appearance  only  within  the  last  few  days. 

We  halted  to  noon  at  a  solitary  cottonwood  in  a  hollow, 
near  which  was  killed  the  first  buffalo,  a  large  old  bull. 

Antelope  appeared  in  bands  during  the  day.  Crossing  here 
to  the  affluents  of  the  Republican,  we  encamped  on  a  fork, 
6* 


130  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNK, 

about  forty  feet  wide  and  one  foot  deep,  flowing  with  a  swift 
current  over  a  sandy  bed,  and  well  wooded  with  ash-leaved 
maple,  (negundo  fraxinifolium,)  elm,  cottonwood,  and  a  few 
white  oaks.  We  were  visited  in  the  evening  by  a  very  vio- 
lent storm,  accompanied  by  wind,  lightning,  and  thunder ;  a 
cold  rain  falling  in  torrents.  According  to  the  barometer,  our 
elevation  was  2,130  feet  above  the  gulf. 

At  noon,  on  the  23d,  we  descended  into  the  valley  of  a  prin 
cipal  fork  of  the  Republican,  a  beautiful  stream  with  a  dense 
border  of  wood,  consisting  principally  of  varieties  of  ash,  forty 
feet  wide  and  four  deep.  It  was  musical  with  the  notes  of 
many  birds,  which,  from  the  vast  expanse  of  silent  prairie 
around,  seemed  all  to  have  collected  here.  We  continued 
during  the  afternoon  our  route  along  the  river,  which  was 
populous  with  prairie  dogs,  (the  bottoms  being  entirely  occu- 
pied with  their  villages,)  and  late  in  the  evening  encamped  on 
its  banks.  The  prevailing  timber  is  a  blue-foliaged  ash,  (frax- 
inus,  near  F.  Americana,)  and  ash-leaved  maple.  With  these 
were  fraxinus  Americana,  cottonwood,  and  long-leaved  willow. 
We  gave  to  this  stream  the  name  of  Prairie  Dog  river.  Ele- 
vation 2,350  feet.  Our  road  on  the  25th  lay  over  high  smooth 
ridges,  3,100  feet  above  the  sea ;  buffalo  in  great  numbers, 
absolutely  covering  the  face  of  the  country.  At  evening  we 
encamped  within  a  few  miles  of  the  main  Republican,  on  a 
little  creek,  where  the  air  was  fragrant  with  the  perfume  of 
artemisia  JilifoUa,  which  we  here  saw  for  the  first  time,  and 
which  was  ROW  in  bloom.  Shortly  after  leaving  our  encamp- 
ment on  the  26th,  we  found  suddenly  that  the  nature  of  the 
country  had  entirely  changed.  Bare  sand-hills  everywhere 
surrounded  us  in  the  undulating  ground  along  which  we  were 
moving,  and  the  plants  peculiar  to  a  sandy  soil  made  their 
appearance  in  abundance.  A  few  miles  further  we  entered 
the  valley  of  a  large  stream,  afterwards  known  to  be  the  Re- 
publican fork  of  the  Kansas,  whose  shallow  waters,  with  a 
depth  of  only  a  few  inches,  were  spread  out  over  a  bed  of  yel- 
lowish white  sand  600  yards  wide.  With  the  exception  of  one 
or  two  distant  and  detached  groves,  no  timber  of  any  kind  was 
to  be  seen ;  and  the  features  of  the  country  assumed  a  desert- 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  131 

character,  with  which  the  broad  river,  struggling  for  existence 
among  the  quicksands  along  the  treeless  banks,  was  strikingly 
in  keeping.  On  the  opposite  side,  the  broken  ridges  assumed 
almost  a  mountainous  appearance ;  and  fording  the  stream, 
we  continued  on  our  course  among  these  ridges,  and  encamp- 
ed late  in  the  evening  at  a  little  pond  of  very  bad  water,  from 
which  we  drove  away  a  herd  of  buffalo  that  were  standing  in 
and  about  it.  Our  encampment  this  evening  was  3,500  feet 
above  the  sea.  We  traveled  now  for  several  days  through  a 
broken  arid  dry  sandy  region,  about  4,000  feet  above  the  sea, 
where  there  were  no  running  streams ;  and  some  anxiety  was 
constantly  felt  on  account  of  the  uncertainty  of  water,  which 
was  only  to  be  found  in  small  lakes  that  occurred  occasional, 
ly  among  the  hills.  The  discovery  of  these  always  brought 
pleasure  to  the  camp,  as  around  them  were  generally  green 
flats,  which  afforded  abundant  pasturage  for  our  animals  ;  and 
here  we  usually  collected  herds  of  the  buffalo,  which  now  were 
scattered  over  all  the  country  in  countless  numbers. 

The  soil  of  bare  and  hot  sands  supported  a  varied  and  exu- 
berant growth  of  plants,  which  were  much  farther  advanced 
than  we  had  previously  found  them,  and  whose  showy  bloom 
somewhat  relieved  the  appearance  of  general  sterility.  Cross- 
ing the  summit  of  an  elevated  and  continuous  range  of  rolling 
hills,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  30th  of  June,  we  found  ourselves 
overlooking  a  broad  and  misty  valley,  where,  about  ten  miles 
distant,  and  1,000  feet  below  us,  the  South  fork  of  the  Platte 
was  rolling  magnificently  along,  swollen  with  the  waters  of  the 
melting  snows.  It  was  in  strong  and  refreshing  contrast  with 
the  parched  country  from  which  we  had  just  issued ;  and  when, 
at  night,  the  broad  expanse  of  water  grew  indistinct,  it  almost 
seemed  that  we  had  pitched  our  tents  on  the  shore  of  the  sea. 


JULY. 

Traveling  along  up  the  valley  of  the  river,  here  4,000  feet 
above  the  sea,  in  the  afternoon  of  July  1,  we  caught  a  far  and 
uncertain  view  of  a  faint  blue  mass  in  the  west,  as  the  sun  sank 


132  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

behind  it ;  and  from  our  camp  in  the  morning,  at  the  mouth  of 
Bijou,  Long's  peak  and  the  neighboring  mountains  stood  out 
into  the  sky,  grand  and  luminously  white,  covered  to  their 
bases  with  glittering  snow. 

On  the  evening  of  the  3d,  as  we  were  journeying  along  the 
partially  overflowed  bottoms  of  the  Platte,  where  our  passage 
stirred  up  swarms  of  musquitoes,  we  came  unexpectedly  on  an 
Indian,  who  was  perched  upon  a  bluff,  curiously  watching  the 
movements  of  our  caravan.  He  belonged  to  a  village  of  Og- 
lallah  Sioux,  who  had  lost  all  their  animals  in  the  severity  of 
the  preceding  winter,  and  were  now  on  their  way  up  the  Bijou 
fork  to  beg  horses  from  the  Arapahoes,  who  were  hunting  buf- 
falo at  the  head  of  that  river.  Several  came  into  our  camp  at 
noon  ;  and,  as  they  were  hungry,  as  usual,  they  were  provided 
with  buffalo-meat,  of  which  the  hunters  had  brought  in  an 
"abundant  supply. 

About  noon,  on  the  4th  of  July,  we  arrived  at  the  fort,  where 
Mr.  St.  Vrain  received  us  with  his  customary  kindness,  and 
invited  us  to  join  him  in  a  feast  which  had  been  prepared  in 
honor  of  the  day. 

Our  animals  were  very  much  worn  out,  and  our  stock  of 
provisions  entirely  exhausted,  when  we  arrived  at  the  fort ; 
but  I  was  disappointed  in  my  hope  of  obtaining  relief,  as  I  found 
it  in  a  very  impoverished  condition ;  and  we  were  able  to  pro- 
cure only  a  little  unbolted  Mexican  flour,  and  some  salt,  with 
a  few  pounds  of  powder  and  lead. 

As  regarded  provisions,  it  did  not  much  matter  in  a  country 
where  rarely  the  day  passed  without  seeing  some  kind  of  game, 
and  where  it  was  frequently  abundant.  It  was  a  rare  thing  to 
lie  down  hungry,  and  we  had  already  learned  to  think  bread  a 
luxury ;  but  we  could  not  proceed  without  animals,  and  our 
own  were  not  capable  of  prosecuting  the  journey  beyond  the 
mountains  without  relief. 

I  had  been  informed  that  a  large  number  of  mules  had  re- 
cently arrived  at  Taos,  from  Upper  California ;  and  as  our 
friend,  Mr.  Maxwell,  was  about  to  continue  his  journey  to  that 
place,  where  a  portion  of  his  family  resided,  I  engaged  him  to 
purchase  for  me  ten  or  twelve  mules,  with  the  understanding 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  133 

that  he  should  pack  them  with  provisions  and  other  necessaries, 
and  meet  me  at  the  mouth  of  the  Fontaine-qui-bouit,  on  the 
Arkansas  river,  to  which  point  I  would  be  led  in  the  course  of 
the  survey. 

Agreeably  to  his  own  request,  and  in  the  conviction  that  his 
habits  of  life  and  education  had  not  qualified  him  to  endure  the 
hard  life  of  a  voyageur,  I  discharged  here  one  of  my  party, 
Mr.  Oscar  Sarpy,  having  furnished  him  with  arms  and  means 
of  transportation  to  Fort  Laramie,  where  he  would  be  in  the 
line  of  caravans  returning  to  the  States. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  6th  of  July,  Maxwell  was  on  his  way 
to  Taos ;  and  a  few  hours  after  we  also  had  recommenced  our 
journey  up  the  Platte,  which  was  continuously  timbered  with 
cotton  wood  and  willow,  on  a  generally  sandy  soil.  Passing  on 
the  way  the  remains  of  two  abandoned  forts,  (one  of  which, 
however,  was  still  in  good  condition,)  we  reached,  in  ten  miles, 
Fort  Lancaster,  the  trading  establishment  of  Mr.  Lupton. 

His  post  was  beginning  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  com- 
fortable farm :  stock,  hogs,  and  cattle,  were  ranging  about  on 
the  prairie — there  were  different  kinds  of  poultry ;  and  there 
was  a  wreck  of  a  promising  garden,  in  which  a  considerable 
variety  of  vegetables  had  been  in  a  flourishing  condition ;  but 
it  had  been  almost  entirely  ruined  by  the  recent  high  waters. 
I  remained  to  spend  with  him  an  agreeable  hour,  and  set  off  in 
a  cold  storm  of  rain,  which  was  accompanied  with  violent  thun- 
der and  lightning.  We  encamped  immediately  on  the  river, 
sixteen  miles  from  St.  V  rain's.  Several  Arapahoes,  on  their 
way  to  the  village  which  was  encamped  a  few'miles  above  us, 
passed  by  the  camp  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon.  Night  set 
in  stormy  and  cold,  with  heavy  and  continuous  rain,  which 
lasted  until  morning. 

7th. — We  made  this  morning  an  early  start,  continuing  to 
travel  up  the  Platte ;  and  in  a  few  miles  frequent  bands  of 
horses  and  mules,  scattered  for  several  miles  round  about, 
indicated  our  approach  to  the  Arapaho  village,  which  we  found 
encamped  in  a  beautiful  bottom,  and  consisting  of  about  one 
nundred  and  sixty  lodges.  It  appeared  extremely  populous, 
with  a  great  number  of  children — a  circumstance  which  indi- 


134  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [.Tun, 

cated  a  regular  supply  of  the  means  of  subsistence.  The 
chiefs,  who  were  gathered  together  at  the  farther  end  of  the 
village,  received  us  (as  probably  strangers  are  always  received 
to  whom  they  desire  to  show  respect  or  regard)  by  throwing 
their  arms  around  our  necks  and  embracing  us. 

It  required  some  skill  in  horsemanship  to  keep  the  saddle 
during  the  performance  of  this  ceremony,  as  our  American 
horses  exhibited  for  them  the  same  fear  they  have  for  a  bear, 
or  any  other  wild  animal.  Having  very  few  goods  with  me,  I 
was  only  able  to  make  them  a  meager  present,  accounting  for 
the  poverty  of  the  gift  by  explaining  that  my  goods  had  been 
left  with  the  wagons  in  charge  of  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  who  was 
well  known  to  them  as  the  White  Head,  or  the  Broken  Hand. 
I  saw  here,  as  I  had  remarked  in  an  Arapaho  village  the  pre- 
ceding year,  near  the  lodges  of  the  chiefs,  tall  tripods  of  white 
poles  supporting  their  spears  and  shields,  which  showed  it  to  be 
a  regular  custom. 

Though  disappointed  in  obtaining  the  presents  which  had 
been  evidently  expected,  they  behaved  very  courteously ;  and, 
after  a  little  conversation,  I  left  them,  and,  continuing  on  up 
the  river,  halted  to  noon  on  the  bluff,  as  the  bottoms  are  almost 
inundated  ;  continuing  in  the  afternoon  our  route  along  the 
mountains,  which  were  dark,  misty,  and  shrouded — threatening 
a  storm ;  the  snow  peaks  sometimes  glittering  through  the 
clouds  beyond  the  first  ridge. 

We  surprised  a  grizzly  bear  sauntering  along  the  river, 
which,  raising  himself  upon  his  hind  legs,  took  a  deliberate 
survey  of  us,  that  did  not  appear  very  satisfactory  to  him,  and 
he  scrambled  into  the  river  and  swam  to  the  opposite  side.  We 
halted  for  the  night  a  little  above  Cherry  creek ;  the  evening 
cloudy,  with  many  musquitoes.  Some  indifferent  observations 
placed  the  camp  in  lat.  39°  43'  53",  and  chronometric  long. 
105°  24'  34". 

8th. — We  continued  to-day  to  travel  up  the  Platte  :  the  morn- 
ing pleasant,  with  a  prospect  of  fairer  weather.  During  the 
forenoon  our  way  lay  over  a  more  broken  country,  with  a 
gravelly  and  sandy  surface ;  although  the  immediate  bottom 
of  the  river  was  a  good  soil,  of  a  dark  and  sandy  mould, 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  135 

resting  upon  a  stratum  of  large  pebbles,  or  rolled  stones,  as  at 
Laramie  fork.  On  our  right,  and  apparently  very  near,  but 
probably  8  or  10  miles  distant,  and  two  or  three  thousand  feet 
above  us,  ran  the  first  range  of  the  mountains,  like  a  dark 
corniced  line,  in  clear  contrast  with  the  great  snowy  chain 
which,  immediately  beyond,  rose  glittering  five  thousand  feet 
above  them.  We  caught  this  morning  a  view  of  Pike's  peak  ; 
but  it  appeared  for  a  moment  only,  as  clouds  rose  early  over 
the  mountains,  and  shrouded  them  in  mist  and  rain  all  the  day. 
In  the  first  range  were  visible,  as  at  the  Red  Buttes  on  the 
North  fork,  very  lofty  escarpments  of  red  rock.  While  travel- 
ing through  this  region,  I  remarked  that  always  in  the  morning 
the  lofty  peaks  were  visible  and  bright,  but  very  soon  small 
white  clouds  began  to  settle  around  them — brewing  thicker  and 
thicker  as  the  day  advanced,  until  the  afternoon,  when  the 
thunder  began  to  roll ;  and  invariably  at  evening  we  had  more 
or  less  of  a  thunder  storm.  At  11  o'clock,  and  21  miles  from 
St.  Vrain's  fort,  we  reached  a  point  in  this  southern  fork  of  the 
Platte,  where  the  stream  is  divided  into  three  forks ;  two  of 
these  (one  of  them  being  much  the  largest)  issuing  directly 
from  the  mountains  on  the  west,  and  forming,  with  the  eastern- 
most branch,  a  river  of  the  plains.  The  elevation  of  this 
point  is  about  5,500  feet  above  the  sea ;  this  river  falling  2,800 
feet  in  a  distance  of  316  miles,  to  its  junction  with  the  North 
fork  of  the  Platte.  In  this  estimate,  the  elevation  of  the  junc- 
tion is  assumed  as  given  by  our  barometrical  observations  in 
1842.  On  the  easternmost  branch,  up  which  we  took  our  way, 
we  first  came  among  the  pines  growing  on  the  top  of  a  very 
high  bank,  and  where  we  halted  on  it  to  noon ;  quaking  asp 
(populus  tremuloides)  was  mixed  with  the  cotton  wood,  and 
there  were  excellent  grass  and  rushes  for  the  animals. 

During  the  morning  there  occurred  many  beautiful  flowers, 
which  we  had  not  hitherto  met.  Among  them,  the  common 
blue  flowering  flax  made  its  first  appearance  ;  and  a  tall  and 
handsome  species  of  gilia,  with  slender  scarlet  flowers,  which 
appeared  yesterday  for  the  first  time,  was  very  frequent 
to-day. 

We  had  found  very  little  game  since  leaving  the  fort,  and 


136  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

provisions  began  to  get  unpleasantly  scant,  as  we  had  had  no 
meat  for  several  days ;  but  towards  sundown,  when  we  had 
already  made  up  our  minds  to  sleep  another  night  without 
supper,  Lajeunesse  had  the  good  fortune  to  kill  a  fine  deer, 
which  he  found  feeding  in  a  hollow  near  by ;  and  as  the  rain 
began  to  fall,  threatening  an  unpleasant  night,  we  hurried  to 
secure  a  comfortable  camp  in  the  timber. 

To-night  the  camp  fires,  girdled  with  appolas  of  fine  venison, 
looked  cheerful  in  spite  of  the  stormy  weather. 

9th. — On  account  of  the  low  state  of  our.  provisions  and  the 
scarcity  of  game,  I  determined  to  vary  our  route,  and  proceed 
several  camps  to  the  eastward,  in  the  hope  of  falling  in  with 
the  buffalo.  This  route  along  the  dividing  grounds  between 
the  South  fork  of  the  Platte  and  the  Arkansas,  would  also 
afford  some  additional  geographical  information.  This  morn- 
ing, therefore,  we  turned  to  the  eastward,  along  the  upper 
waters  of  the  stream  on  which  we  had  encamped,  entering  a 
country  of  picturesque  and  varied  scenery ;  broken  into  rocky 
hills  of  singular  shapes  ;  little  valleys,  with  pure  crystal  water, 
here  leaping  swiftly  along,  and  there  losing  itself  in  the  sands ; 
green  spots  of  luxuriant  grass,  flowers  of  all  colors,  and  timber 
of  different  kinds — every  thing  to  give  it  a  varied  beauty,  ex- 
cept game.  To  one  of  these  remarkably  shaped  hills,  having 
on  the  summit  a  circular  flat  rock  two  or  three  hundred  yards 
in  circumference,  some  one  gave  the  name  of  Poundcake, 
which  it  has  been  permitted  to  retain,  as  our  hungry  people 
seemed  to  think  it  a  very  agreeable  comparison.  In  the  after- 
noon a  buffalo  bull  was  killed,  and  we  encamped  on  a  small 
stream,  near  the  road  which  runs  from  St.  Vrain's  foxt  to  the 
Arkansas. 

10th. — Snow  fell  heavily  on  the  mountains  during  the  night, 
and  Pike's  peak  this  morning  is  luminous  and  grand,  covered 
from  the  summit,  as  low  down  as  we  can  see,  with  glittering 
white.  Leaving  the  encampment  at  6  o'clock,  we  continued 
our  easterly  course  over  a  rolling  country,  near  to  the  high 
ridges,  which  are  generally  rough  and  rocky,  with  a  coarse 
conglomerate  displayed  in  masses,  and  covered  with  pines. 
The  rock  is  very  friable,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  from  its  de- 


1843.")  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  137 

composition  that  the  prairies  derive  their  sandy  and  gravelly 
formation.  In  six  miles  we  crossed  a  head-water  of  the  Kioway 
river,  on  which  we  found  a  strong  fort  and  coral  that  had  been 
built  in  the  spring,  and  halted  to  noon  on  the  principal  branch 
of  the  river.  During  the  morning  our  route  led  over  a  dark 
and  vegetable  mould,  mixed  with  sand  and  gravel,  the  charac- 
teristic plant  being  esparcette,  (onobrychis  saliva,)  a  species  of 
clover  which  i^  much  used  in  certain  parts  of  Germany  for 
pasturage  of  stock — principally  hogs.  It  is  sown  on  rocky 
waste  ground,  which  would  otherwise  be  useless,  and  grows 
very  luxuriantly,  requiring  only  a  renewal  of  the  seed  about 
once  in  fifteen  years.  Its  abundance  here  greatly  adds  to  the 
pastoral  value  of  this  region.  A  species  of  antennaria  in 
flower  was  very  common  along  the  line  of  road,  and  the  creeks 
were  timbered  with  willow  and  pine.  We  encamped  on  Bijou's 
fork,  the  water  of  which,  unlike  the  clear  streams  we  had 
previously  crossed,  is  of  a  whitish  color,  and  the  soil  of  the 
bottom  a  very  hard,  tough  clay.  There  was  a  prairie  dog 
village  on  the  bottom,  and,  in  the  endeavor  to  unearth  one  of 
the  little  animals,  we  labored  ineffectually  in  the  tough  clay 
until  dark.  After  descending,  with  a  slight  inclination,  until 
it  had  gone  the  depth  of  two  feet,  the  hole  suddenly  turned  at 
a  sharp  angle  in  another  direction  for  one  more  foot  in  depth, 
when  it  again  turned,  taking  an  ascending  direction  to  the  next 
nearest  hole.  I  have  no  doubt  that  all  their  little  habitations 
communicate  with  each  other.  The  greater  part  of  the  people 
were  sick  to-day,  and  I  was  inclined  to  attribute  their  indis- 
position to  the  meat  of  the  bull  which  •  had  been  killed  the 
previous  day. 

llth. — There  were  no  indications  of  buffalo  having  been 
recently  in  the  neighborhood ;  and,  unwilling  to  travel  far- 
ther  eastward,  I  turned  this  morning  to  the  southward,  up 
the  valley  of  Bijou.  Esparcette  occurred  universally,  and 
among  the  plants  on  the  river  I  noticed,  for  the  first  time  du- 
ring this  journey,  a  few  small  bushes  of  the  absinthe  of  the 
voyageurs,  which  is  commonly  used  for  firewood,  (artemisia 
tridentata.)  Yesterday  and  to-day  the  road  has  been  orna- 
mented with  the  showy  bloom  of  a  beautiful  lupimis,  a  charac- 


138  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

teristic  in  many  parts  of  the  mountain  region,  on  which  were 
generally  great,  numbers  of  an  insect  with  very  bright  colors, 
(litta  vesicatoria.) 

As  we  were  riding  quietly  along,  -eagerly  searching  every 
hollow  in  search  of  game,  we  discovered,  at  a  little  distance  in 
the  prairie,  a  large  grizzly  bear,  so  busily  engaged  in  digging 
roots  that  he  did  not  perceive  us  until  we  were  galloping  down 
a  little  hill  fifty  yards  from  him,  when  he  charged  upon  us  with 
such  sudden  energy  that  several  of  us  came  near  losing  our 
saddles.  Being  wounded,  he  commenced  retreating  to  a  rocky 
piny  ridge  near  by,  from  which  we  were  -not  able  to  cut  him 
off,  and  we  entered  the  timber  with  him.  The  way  was  very 
much  blocked  up  with  fallen  timber  ;  and  we  kept  up  a  run- 
ning fight  for  some  time,  animated  by  the  bear  charging  among 
the  horses.  He  did  not  fall  until  after  he  had  received  six  rifle 
balls.  He  was  miserably  poor,  and  added  nothing  to  our  stock 
of  provisions. 

We  followed  the  stream  to  its  head  in  a  broken  ridge,  which, 
according  to  the  barometer,  was  about  7,500  feet  above  the 
sea.  This  is  a  piny  elevation,  into  which  the  prairies  are 
gathered,  and  from  which  the  waters  flow,  in  almost  every  di- 
rection, to  the  Arkansas,  Platte,  and  Kansas  rivers  ;  the  latter 
stream  having  here  its  remotest  sources.  Although  somewhat 
rocky  and  broken,  and  covered  with  pines,  in  comparison 
with  the  neighboring  mountains,  it  scarcely  forms  an  inter- 
ruption to  the  great  prairie  plains  which  sweep  up  to  their 
bases. 

We  had  an  excellent  view  of  Pike's  peak  from  this  camp,  at 
the  distance  of  forty  miles.  This  mountain  barrier  presents 
itself  to  travelers  on  the  plains,  which  sweep  almost  directly 
to  its  bases — an  immense  and  comparatively  smooth  and  grassy 
prairie,  in  very  strong  contrast  with  the  black  masses  of  timber, 
and  the  glittering  snow  above  them.  With  occasional  exceptions, 
comparatively  so  very  small  as  not  to  require  mention,  these 
prairies  are  everywhere  covered  with  a  close  and  vigorous  growth 
of  a  great  variety  of  grasses,  among  which  the  most  abundant 
is  the  buffalo  grass,  (sesleria  dactyloides.)  Between  the  Platte 
and  Arkansas  rivers,  that  part  of  this  region  which  forms  the 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  139 

basin  drained  by  the  waters  of  the  Kansas,  with  which  our 
operations  made  us  more  particularly  acquainted,  is  based  upon 
a  formation  of  calcareous  rocks.  The  soil  of  all  this  country 
is  excellent,  admirably  adapted  to  agricultural  purposes,  and 
would  support  a  large  agricultural  and  pastoral  population.  A 
glance  at  the  map,  along  our  several  lines  of  travel,  will  show 
you  that  this  plain  is  watered  by  many  streams.  Throughout 
the  western  half  of  the  plain,  these  are  shallow,  with  sandy 
beds,  becoming  deeper  as  they  reach  the  richer  lands  ap- 
proaching the  Missouri  river;  they  generally  have  bottom 
lands,  bordered  by  bluffs  varying  from  fifty  to  five  hundred 
feet  in  height.  In  all  this  region  the  timber  is  entirely  con- 
fined to  the  streams.  In  the  eastern  half,  where  the  soil  is  a 
deep,  rich,  vegetable  mould,  retentive  of  rain  and  moisture,  it 
is  of  vigorous  growth,  and  of  many  different  kinds ;  and 
throughout  the  western  half  it  consists  entirely  of  various  spe- 
cies of  cotton  wood,  which  deserves  to  be  called  the  tree  of  the 
desert — growing  in  sandy  soils,  where  no  other  tree  will  grow — 
pointing  out  the  existence  of  water,  and  furnishing  to  the  trav- 
eler fuel,  and  food  for  his  animals.  Add  to  this  that  the  west- 
ern border  of  the  plain  is  occupied  by  the  Sioux,  Arapaho,  and 
Cheyenne  nations,  with  the  Pawnees  and  other  half-civilized 
tribes  in  its  eastern  limits,  for  whom  the  intermediate  country 
is  a  war-ground,  and  you  will  have  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of  the 
appearance  and  condition  of  the  country.  Descending  a  some- 
what precipitous  and  rocky  hillside  among  the  pines,  which 
rarely  appear  elsewhere  than  on  the  ridge,  we  encamped  at  its 
foot,  where  there  were  several  springs,  which  you  will  find 
laid  down  upon  the  map  as  one  of  the  extreme  sources  of  the 
Smoky  Hill  fork  of  the  Kansas.  From  this  place  the  view  ex- 
tended over  the  Arkansas  valley,  and  the  Spanish  peaks  in  the 
south  beyond.  As  the  greater  part  of  the  men  continued  sick, 
I  encamped  here  for  the  day,  and  ascertained  conclusively, 
from  experiments  on  myself,  that  their  illness  was  caused  by 
the  meat  of  the  buffalo  bull. 

On  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  near  the  camp,  were  several 
rock-built  forts,  which  in  front  were  very  difficult  of  approach, 
and  in  the  rear  were  protected  by  a  precipice  entirely  beyond 


140  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

the  reach  of  a  rifle-ball.  The  evening  was  tolerably  clear, 
with  a  temperature  at  sunset  of  63°.  Elevation  of  the  camp 
seven  thousand  and  three  hundred  feet. 

Turning  the  next  day  to  the  southwest,  we  reached,  in  the 
course  of  the  morning,  the  wagon- road  to  the  settlements  on  the 
Arkansas  river,  and  encamped  in  the  afternoon  on  the  Fon- 
taine-qui-bouit  (or  Boiling  Spring)  river,  where  it  was  fifty  feet 
wide,  with  a  swift  current.  I  afterwards  found  that  the  spring 
and  river  owe  their  names  to  the  bubbling  of  the  effervescing 
gas  in  the  former,  and  not  to  the  temperature  of  the  water, 
which  is  cold.  During  the  morning  a  tall  species  ofgilia,  with 
a  slender  white  flower,  was  characteristic  ;  and,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  day,  another  variety  of  esparcette,  (wild  clover,) 
having  the  flower  white,  was  equally  so.  We  had  a  fine  sun- 
set of  golden  brown  ;  and,  in  the  evening,  a  very  bright  moon, 
with  the  near  mountains,  made  a  beautiful  scene.  Thermom- 
eter, at  sunset,  was  69°,  and  our  elevation  above  the  sea  5,800 
feet. 

13th. — The  morning  was  clear,  with  a  northwesterly  breeze, 
and  the  thermometer  at  sunrise  at  46°.  There  were  no  clouds 
along  the  mountains,  and  the  morning  sun  showed  very  clear- 
ly their  rugged  character. 

We  resumed  our  journey  very  early  down  the  river,  follow- 
ing an  extremely  good  lodge-trail,  which  issues  by  the  head  of 
this  stream  from  the  bayou  Salade,  a  high  mountain  valley  be- 
hind Pike's  peak.  The  soil  along  the  road  was  sandy  and 
gravelly,  and  the  river  well  timbered.  We  halted  to  noon 
under  the  shade  of  some  fine  large  cottonwoods,  our  animals 
luxuriating  on  rushes,  (equisetum  hyemale,)  which,  along  this 
river,  were  remarkably  abundant.  A  variety  of  cactus  made 
its  appearance,  and  among  several  strange  plants  were  numer- 
ous and  beautiful  clusters  of  a  plant  resembling  mirdbilis  jala- 
pa,  with  a  handsome  convolvulus  I  had  not  hitherto  seen, 
(calystegia.)  In  the  afternoon  we  passed  near  the  encampment 
of  a  hunter  named  Maurice,  who  had  been  out  into  the  plains 
in  pursuit  of  buffalo  calves,  a  number  of  which  I  saw  among 
some  domestic  cattle  near  his  lodge.  Shortly  afterwards,  a 
party  of  mountaineers  galloped  up  to  us — fine-looking  and 


1843. J  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  141 

hardy  men,  dressed  in  skins,  and  mounted  on  good  fat  horses  ; 
among  them  were  several  Connecticut  men,  a  portion  of 
Wyeth's  party,  whom  I  had  seen  the  year  before,  and  others 
were  men  from  the  western  states. 

Continuing  down  the  river,  we  encamped  at  noon  on  the 
14th,  at  its  mouth,  on  the  Arkansas  river.  A  short  distance 
above  our  encampment,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Arkansas,  is  a 
pueblo,  (as  the  Mexicans  call  their  civilized  Indian  villages,) 
where  a  number  of  mountaineers,  who  had  married  Spanish 
women  in  the  valley  of  Taos,  had  collected  together  and 
occupied  themselves  in  farming,  carrying  on  at  the  same  time 
a  desultory  Indian  trade.  They  were  principally  Americans, 
and  treated  us  with  all  the  rude  hospitality  their  situation  ad- 
mitted ;  but  as  all  commercial  intercourse  with  New  Mexico 
was  now  interrupted,  in  consequence  of  Mexican  decrees  to 
that  effect,  there  was  nothing  to  be  had  in  the  way  of  provis- 
ions. They  had,  however,  a  fine  stock  of  cattle,  and  furnished 
us  an  abundance  of  excellent  milk.  I  learned  here  that  Max- 
well, in  company  with  two  other  men,  had  started  for  Taos  on 
the  morning  of  the  9th,  but  that  he  would  probably  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  Utah  Indians,  commonly  called  the  Spanish 
Yutes.  As  Maxwell  had  no  knowledge  of  their  being  in  the 
vicinity  when  he  crossed  the  Arkansas,  his  chance  of  escape 
was  very  doubtful ;  but  I  did  not  entertain  much  apprehension 
for  his  life,  having  great  confidence  in  his  prudence  and  cour- 
age. I  was  further  informed  that  there  had  been  a  popular 
tumult  among  the  pueblos,  or  civilized  Indians,  residing  near 
Taos,  against  the  "foreigners"  of  that  place,  in  which  they  had 
plundered  their  houses  and  ill-treated  their  families.  Among 
those  whose  property  had  been  destroyed,  was  Mr.  Beaubien, 
father-in-law  of  Maxwell,  from  whom  I  had  expected  to  ob- 
tain supplies,  and  who  had  been  obliged  to  make  his  escape  to 
Santa  Fe. 

By  this  position  of  affairs,  our  expectation  of  obtaining  sup- 
plies from  Taos  was  cut  off.  I  had  here  the  satisfaction  to 
meet  our  good  buffalo-hunter  of  1842,  Christopher  Carson, 
whose  services  I  considered  myself  fortunate  to  secure  again  ; 
and  as  a  reinforcement  of  mules  was  absolutely  necessary,  I 


142  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JuiT, 

dispatched  him  immediately,  with  an  account  of  our  necessi- 
ties, to  Mr.  Charles  Bent,  whose  principal  post  is  on  the  Ar- 
kansas river,  about  seventy-five  miles  below  Fontaine-qui-bouit. 
He  was  directed  to  proceed  from  that  post  by  the  nearest  route 
across  the  country,  and  meet  me,  with  what  animals  he  should 
be  able  to  obtain,  at  St.  Vrain's  fort.  I  also  admitted  into  the 
party  Charles  Towns,  a  native  of  St.  Louis,  a  serviceable  man, 
with  many  of  the  qualities  of  a  good  voyageur.  According  to 
our  observations,  the  latitude  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  is  38° 
15'  23",  its  longitude  104°  58'  30",  and  its  elevation  above 
the  sea  4,880  feet. 

On  the  morning  of  the  16th,  the  time  for  Maxwell's  arrival 
having  expired,  we  resumed  our  journey,  leaving  for  him  a 
note,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  I  would  wait  for  him  at  St. 
Vrain's  fort,  until  the  morning  of  the  26th,  in  the  event  that  he 
should  succeed  in  his  commission.  Our  direction  was  up  the 
Boiling  Spring  river,  it  being,  my  intention  to  visit  the  cele 
brated  springs  from  which  the  river  takes  its  name,  and  whicl. 
are  on  its  upper  waters,  at  the  foot  of  Pike's  peak.  Our  ani 
mals  fared  well  while  we  were  on  this  stream,  there  bein^ 
everywhere  a  great  abundance  of  prele.  Ipomea  lept&phylla 
in  bloom,  was  a  characteristic  plant  along  the  river,  generally 
in  large  bunches,  with  two  to  five  flowers  on  each.  Beautifu 
clusters  of  the  plant  resembling  mirabilis  jalapa  were  numer 
ous,  and  glycyrrhiza  lepidota  was  a  characteristic  of  the  bot 
toms.  Currants  nearly  ripe  were  abundant,  and  among  thr 
shrubs  which  covered  the  bottom  was  a  very  luxuriant  growtt 
of  chenopodiaceous  shrubs,  four  to  six  feet  high.  On  the_  ai 
ternoon  of  the  17th  we  entered  among  the  broken  ridges  at  th*. 
foot  of  the  mountains,  where  the  river  made  several  forkn 
Leaving  the  camp  to  follow  slowly,  I  rode  ahead  in  the  after- 
noon in  search  of  the  springs.  In  the  mean  time,  the  clouds, 
which  had  been  gathered  all  the  afternoon  over  the  mountains, 
began  to  roll  down  their  sides  ;  and  a  storm  so  violent  bursS 
upon  me,  that  it  appeared  I  had  entered  the  storehouse  of  the 
thunder-storms.  I  continued,  however,  to  ride  along  up  the 
river  until  about  sunset,  and  was  beginning  to  be  doubtful  of 
finding  the  springs  before  the  next  day,  when  I  came  suddenly 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE  143 

upon  a  large  smooth  rock,  about  twenty  yards  in  diameter, 
where  the  water  from  several  springs  was  bubbling  and  boil- 
ing up  in  the  midst  of  a  white  incrustation,  with  which  it  had 
covered  a  portion  of  the  rock.  As  this  did  not  correspond  with 
the  description  given  me  by  the  hunters,  I  did  not  stop  to  taste 
the  water,  but  dismounting,  walked  a  little  way  up  the  river, 
and,  passing  through  a  narrow  thicket  of  shrubbery  bordering 
the  stream,  stepped  directly  upon  a  huge  white  rock,  at  the 
foot  of  which  the  river,  already  become  a  torrent,  foamed 
along,  broken  by  a  small  fall.  A  deer  which  had  been  drink- 
ing at  the  spring  was  startled  by  my  approach,  and,  springing 
across  the  river,  bounded  off  up  the  mountain.  In  the  upper 
part  of  the  rock,  which  had  apparently  been  formed  by  deposi- 
tion, was  a  beautiful  white  basin,  overhung  by  currant  bushes, 
in  which  the  cold  clear  water  bubbled  up,  kept  in  constant  mo- 
tion by  the  escaping  gas,  and  overflowing  the  rock,  which  it  had 
almost  entirely  covered  with  a  smooth  crust  of  glistening  white. 
[  had  all  day  refrained  from  drinking,  reserving  myself  for  the 
spring  ;  and  as  I  could  not  well  be  more  wet  than  the  rain  had 
already  made  me,  I  lay  down  by  the  side  of  the  basin,  and 
drank  heartily  of  the  delightful  water.  The  spring  is  situated 
immediately  at  the  foot  of  lofty  mountains,  beautifully  timber- 
ed, which  sweep  closely  round,  shutting  up  the  little  valley  in 
a  kind  of  cove.  As  it  was  beginning  to  grow  dark,  I  rode  quickly 
down  the  river,  on  which  I  found  the  camp  a  few  miles  below. 

The  morning  of  the  18th  was  beautiful  and  clear  j  and,  all 
the  people  being  anxious  to  drink  of  these  famous  waters,  we 
encamped  immediately  at  the  springs,  and  spent  there  a  very 
pleasant  day.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  is  another  lo- 
cality of  springs,  which  are  entirely  of  the  same  nature.  The 
water  has  a  very  agreeable  taste,  which  Mr.  Preuss  found  very 
much  to  resemble  that  of  the  famous  Selter  springs  in  the  grand 
duchy  of  Nassau,  a  country  famous  for  wine  and  mineral  wa- 
ters ;  and  it  is  almost  entirely  of  the  same  character,  though 
still  more  agreeable  than  that  of  the  famous  Bear  springs,  near 
Bear  river  of  the  Great  Salt  lake.  The  following  is  an  analy- 
sis of  an  incrustation  with  which  the  water  had  covered  a  piece 
of  wood  lying  on  the  rock  : 


144  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

Carbonate  of  lime,      -         -         -  ••<•*»•  .^    «^-  T    -         -      92-25 
Carbonate  of  magnesia,  ......     1-21 

Sulphate  of  lime,  \ 

Chloride  of  calcium,     >       -      .-.;-        P,  -     -i      .,-•%  ,      '23 

Chloride  of  magnesia,  5 

Silica,  ..-..,....     1-50 

Vegetable  matter,       ....        -         .r  '      i  ''      -20 

Moisture  and  loss,  -        -         -         -         -         -         -4' 61 

100-00 

At  eleven  o'clock,  when  the  temperature  of  the  air  was 
73°,  that  of  the  water  in  this  was  60'5°  ;  and  that  of  the  upper 
spring,  which  issued  from  the  flat  rock,  more  exposed  to  the  sun, 
was  69°.  At  sunset,  when  the  temperature  of  the  air  was  66°, 
that  of  the  lower  springs  was  58°,  and  that  of  the  upper  61°. 

19th. — A  beautiful  and  clear  morning,  with  a  slight  breeze 
from  the  northwest ;  the  temperature  of  the  air  at  sunrise  be- 
ing  57-5°.  At  this  time  the  temperature  of  the  lower  spring 
was  57-8°,  springs  was  58°,  and  that  of  the  upper  54*3°. 

The  trees  in  the  neighborhood  were  birch,  willow,  pine,  and 
an  oak  resembling  quercus  alba.  In  the  shrubbery  along  the 
river  are  currant  bushes,  (ribes,)  of  which  the  fruit  has  a  sin- 
gular piny  flavor  ;  and  on  the  mountain  side,  in  a  red  gravelly 
soil,  is  a  remarkable  coniferous  tree,  (perhaps  an  abies,)  having 
the  leaves  singularly  long,  broad  and  scattered,  with  bushes  of 
spir&a  ari&folia.  By  our  observations,  this  place  is  6,350 
feet  above  the  sea,  in  latitude  38°  52'  10",  and  longitude 
105°  22' 45". 

Resuming  our  journey  on  this  morning,  we  descended  the 
river,  in  order  to  reach  the  mouth  of  the  eastern  fork,  which  I 
proposed  to  ascend.  The  left  bank  of  the  river  here  is  very 
much  broken.  There  is  a  handsome  little  bottom  on  the  right, 
and  both  banks  are  exceedingly  picturesque — strata  of  red 
rock,  in  nearly  perpendicular  walls,  crossing  the  valley  from 
north  to  south.  About  three  miles  below  the  springs,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  is  a  nearly  perpendicular  limestone 
rock,  presenting  a  uniformly  unbroken  surface,  twenty  to  forty 
feet  high,  containing  very  great  numbers  of  a  large  univalve 
shell,  which  appears  to  belong  to  the  genus  inoceramus. 

In  contact  with  this,  to  the  westward,  was  another  stratum 


J843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  145 

of  limestone,  containing  fossil  shells  of  a  different  character ; 
and  still  higher  up  on  the  stream  were  parallel  strata,  consist- 
ing of  a  compact  somewhat  crystalline  limestone,  and  argilla- 
ceous bituminous  limestone  in  thin  layers.  During  the  morn- 
ing, we  traveled  up  the  eastern  fork  of  the  Fontaine-qui-l^uit 
river,  our  road  being  roughened  by  frequent  deep  gullies  tim- 
bered with  pine,  and  halted  to  noon  on  a  small  branch  of  the 
stream,  timbered  principally  with  the  narrow-leaved  cotton  wood, 
(populus  angustifolia,)  called  by  the  Canadians  Hard  amere.  On 
a  hill  near  by,  were  two  remarkable  columns  of  a  grayish- white 
conglomerate  rock,  one  of  which  was  about  twenty  feet  high,  and 
two  feet  in  diameter.  They  are  surmounted  by  slabs  of  a  dark 
ferruginous  conglomerate,  forming  black  caps,  and  adding  very 
much  to  their  columnar  effect  at  a  distance.  This  rock  is  very 
destructible  by  the  action  of  the  weather,  and  the  hill,  of  which 
they  formerly  constituted  a  part,  is  entirely  abraded. 

A  shaft  of  the  gun-carriage  was  broken  in  the  afternoon ; 
and  we  made  an  early  halt,  the  stream  being  from  twelve  to 
twenty  feet  wide,  with  clear  water.  As  usual,  the  clouds  had 
gathered  to  a  storm  over  the  mountains,  and  we  had  a  showery 
evening.  At  sunset,  the  thermometer  stood  at  62°,  and  our 
elevation  above  the  sea  was  6,530  feet. 

20th. — This  morning  (as  we  generally  found  the  mornings 
under  these  mountains)  was  very  clear  and  beautiful,  and  the 
air  cool  and  pleasant,  with  the  thermometer  at  44°.  We  con- 
tinued our  march  up  the  stream,  along  a  green  sloping  bottom, 
between  pine  hills  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  main  Black  hills 
on  the  other,  towards  the  ridge  which  separates  the  waters  of 
the  Platte  from  those  of  the  Arkansas.  As  we  approached  the 
diving  ridge,  the  whole  valley  was  radiant  with  flowers ;  blue, 
yellow,  pink,  white,  scarlet,  and  purple,  vie  with  each  other 
in  splendor.  Esparcette  was  one  of  the  highly  characteristic 
plants,  and  a  bright-looking  flower  (gaillardia  aristata)  was 
very  frequent ;  but  the  most  abundant  plant  along  our  road  to- 
day, was  geranium  maculatum,  which  is  the  characteristic  plant 
on  this  portion  of  the  diving  grounds.  Crossing  to  the  waters  of 
the  Platte,  fields  of  blue  flax  added  to  the  magnificence  of  this 
mountain  garden ;  this  was  occasionally  four  feet  in  height, 


146  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

which  was  a  luxuriance  of  growth  that  I  rarely  saw  this  al- 
most universal  plant  attain  throughout  the  journey.  Continu- 
ing down  a  branch  of  the  Platte,  among  high  and  very  steep 
timbered  hills,  covered  with  fragments  of  rock,  towards  even- 
ing we  issued  from  the  piny  region,  and  made  a  late  encamp- 
ment near  Poundcake  rock,  on  that  fork  of -the  river  which  we 
had  ascended  on  the  8th  of  July.  Our  animals  enjoyed  the 
abundant  rushes  this  evening,  as  the  flies  were  so  bad  among 
the  pines  that  they  had  been  much  harassed.  A  deer  was 
killed  here  this  evening ;  and  again  the  evening  was  overcast, 
and  a  collection  of  brilliant  red  clouds  in  the  west  was  follow- 
ed by  the  customary  squall  of  rain. 

Achillea  millefolium  (milfoil)  was  among  the  characteristic 
plants  of  the  river  bottoms  to-day.  This  was  one  of  the  most 
common  plants  during  the  whole  of  our  journey,  occurring  in 
almost  every  variety  of  situation.  I  noticed  it  on  the  lowlands 
of  the  rivers,  near  the  coast  of  the  Pacific,  and  near  to  the 
snow  among  the  mountains  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

During  this  excursion,  we  had  surveyed  to  its  head  one  of 
the  two  principal  branches  of  the  upper  Arkansas,  75  miles  in 
length,  and  entirely  completed  our  survey  of  the  South  fork  of 
the  Platte,  to  the  extreme  sources  of  that  portion  of  the  river 
which  belongs  to  the  plains,  and  heads  in  the  broken  hills  of 
the  Arkansas  dividing  ridge,  -at  the  foot  of  the  mountains. 
That  portion  of  its  waters  which  were  collected  among  these 
mountains,  it  was  hoped «to  explore  on  our  homeward  voyage. 

Reaching  St.  Vrain's  fort  on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  we 
found  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and  his  party  in  good  order  and  excel- 
lent health,  and  my  true  and  reliable  friend,  Kit  Carson,  who 
had  brought  with  him  ten  good  mules,  with  the  necessary 
pack-saddles.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  who  had  often  endured  every 
extremity  of  want  during  the  course  of  his  mountain  life,  and 
knew  well  the  value  of  provisions  in  this  country,  had  watch- 
ed over  our  stock  with  jealous  vigilance,  and  there  was  an 
abundance  of  flour,  rice,  sugar,  and  coffee,  in  the  camp ;  and 
again  we  fared  luxuriously.  Meat  was,  however,  very  scarce ; 
and  two  very  small  pigs,  which  we  obtained  at  the  fort,  did 
not  go  far  among  forty  men.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  had  been 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  147 

here  a  week,  during  which  time  his  men  had  been  occupied  in 
refitting  the  camp ;  and  the  repose  had  been  very  beneficial  to 
his  animals,  which  were  now  in  tolerably  good  condition. 

I  had  been  able  to  obtain  no  certain  information  in  regard 
to  the  character  of  the  passes  in  this  portion  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  range,  which  had  always  been  represented  as  im- 
practicable for  carriages,  but  the  exploration  of  which  was  in- 
cidentally contemplated  by  my  instructions,  with  the  view  of 
finding  some  convenient  point  of  passage  for  the  road  of  emi- 
gration, which  would  enable  it  to  reach,  on  a  more  direct  line, 
the  usual  ford  of  the  Great  Colorado — a  place  considered  as 
determined  by  the  nature  of  the  country  beyond  that  river.  It 
is  singular,  that  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  I 
could  find  no  one  sufficiently  acquainted  with  them  to  guide 
us  to  the  plains  at  their  western  base ;  but  the  race  of  trap- 
pers, who  formerly  lived  in  their  recesses,  has  almost  entirely 
disappeared — dwindled  to  a  few  scattered  individuals — some 
one  or  two  of  whom  are  regularly  killed  in  the  course  of  each 
year  by  the  Indians.  You  will  remember,  that  in  the  previous 
year  I  brought  with  me  to  their  village  near  .this  post,  and  hos 
pitably  treated  on  the  way,  several  Cheyenne  Indians,  whom 
I  met  on  the  Lower  Platte.  Shortly  after  their  arrival  here, 
these  were  out  with  a  party  of  Indians,  (themselves  the  princi- 
pal men,)  which  discovered  a  few  trappers  in  the  neighboring 
mountains,  whom  they  immediately  murdered,  although  one 
of  them  had  been  nearly  thirty  years  in  the  country,  and  was 
perfectly  well  known,  as  he  had  grown  gray  among  them. 

Through  this  portion  of  the  mountains,  also,  are  the  cus- 
tomary roads  of  the  war  parties  going  out  against  the  Utah 
and  Shoshonee  Indians ;  and  occasionally  parties  from  the 
Crow  nation  make  their  way  down  to  the  southward  along 
this  chain,  in  the  expectation  of  surprising  some  straggling 
lodges  of  their  enemies.  Shortly  before  our  arrival,  one  of 
their  parties  had  attacked  an  Arapaho  village  in  the  vicinity, 
which  they  had  found  unexpectedly  strong ;  and  their  assault 
was  turned  into  a  rapid  flight  and  a  hot  pursuit,  in  which  they 
had  been  compelled  to  abandon  the  animals  they  had  rode 
and  escape  on  their  war-horses. 


148  OAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

Into  this  uncertain  and  dangerous  region,  small  parties  of 
three  or  four  trappers,  who  now  could  collect  together,  rarely 
ventured ;  and  consequently  it  was  seldom  visited  and  little 
known.  Having  determined  to  try  the  passage  by  a  pass 
through  a  spur  of  the  mountains  made  by  the  Cache-a-la-Pou- 
dre  river,  which  rises  in  the  high  bed  of  mountains  around 
Long's  peak,  I  thought  it  advisable  to  avoid  any  encumbrance 
which  would  occasion  detention,  and  accordingly  again  sepa- 
rated the  party  into  two  divisions — one  of  which,  under  the 
command  of  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  was  directed  to  cross  the  plains 
to  the  mouth  of  Laramie  river,  and,  continuing  thence  its  route 
along  the  usual  emigrant  road,  meet  me  at  Fort  Hall,  a  post 
belonging  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  situated  on  Snake 
river,  as  it  is  commonly  called  in  the  Oregon  Territory,  al- 
though better  known  to  us  as  Lewis's  fork  of  the  Columbia. 
The  latter  name  is  there  restricted  to  one  of  the  upper  forks 
of  the  river. 

Our  Delaware  Indians  having  determined  to  return  to  their 
homes,  it  became  necessary  to  provide  this  party  with  a  good 
hunter ;  and  I  accordingly  engaged  in  that  capacity  Alexander 
Godey,  a  young  man  about  25  years  of  age,  who  had  been  in 
this  country  six  or  seven  years,  all  of  which  time  had  been 
actively  employed  in  hunting  for  the  support  of  the  posts,  or 
in  solitary  trading  expeditions  among  the  Indians.  In  courage 
and  professional  skill  he  was  a  formidable  rival  to  Carson,  and 
constantly  afterwards  was  among  the  best  and  most  efficient  of 
the  party,  and  in  difficult  situations  was  of  incalculable  value. 
Hiram  Powers,  one  of  the  men  belonging  to  Mr.  Fitzpatrick 's 
party,  was  discharged  at  this  place. 

A  French  engagt,  at  Lupton's  fort,  had  been  shot  in  the 
back  on  the  4th  of  July,  and  died  during  our  absence  to  the 
Arkansas.  The  wife  of  the  murdered  man,  an  Indian  woman 
of  the  Snake  nation,  desirous,  like  Naomi  of  old,  to  return  to 
her  people,  requested  and  obtained  permission  to  travel  with 
my  party  to  the  neighborhood  of  Bear  river,  where  she  expected 
to  meet  with  some  of  their  villages.  Happier  than  the  Jewish 
widow,  she  carried  with  her  two  children,  pretty  little  half, 
breeds,  who  added  much  to  the  liveliness  of  the  camp.  Hei 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  149 

baggage  was  carried  on  five  or  six  pack-horses ;  and  I  gave  her 
a  small  tent,  for  which  I  no  longer  had  any  use,  as  I  had 
procured  a  lodge  at  the  fort. 

For  my  own  party  I  selected  the  following  men,  a  number 
of  whom  old  associations  had  rendered  agreeable  to  me : 

Charles  Preuss,  Christopher  Carson,  Basil  Lajeunesse,  Fran- 
cois Badeau,  J.  B.  Bernier,  Louis  Menard,  Raphael  Proue, 
Jacob  Dodson,  Louis  Zindel,  Henry  Lee,  J.  B.  Derosier,  Frao- 
QOIS  Lajeunesse,  and  Auguste  Vasquez. 

By  observation,  the  latitude  of  the  post  is  40°  16'  33",  and 
its  longitude  105°  12'  23",  depending,  with  all  the  other  lon- 
gitudes along  this  portion  of  the  line,  upon  a  subsequent  occul- 
tation  of  September  13,  1843,  to  which  they  are  referred  by 
the  chronometer.  Its  distance  from  Kansas  landing,  by  the 
road  we  traveled,  (which,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  very 
winding  along  the  lower  Kansas  river,)  was  750  miles.  The 
rate  of  the  chronometer,  determined  by  observations  at  this 
place  for  the  interval  of  our  absence,  during  this  month, 
was  33- 72",  which  you  will  hereafter  see  did  not  sensibly 
change  during  the  ensuing  month,  and  remained  nearly  con- 
stant during  the  remainder  of  our  journey  across  the  continent. 
This  was  the  rate  used  in  referring  to  St.  Vrain's  fort,  the 
longitude  between  that  place  and  the  mouth  of  the  Fontaine- 
qui-bouit. 

Our  various  barometrical  observations,  which  are  better 
worthy  of  confidence  than  the  isolated  determination  of  1842, 
give,  for  the  elevation  of  the  fort  above  the  sea,  4,930  feet. 
The  barometer  here  used  was  also  a  better  one,  and  less  liable 
to  derangement. 

At  the  end  of  two  days,  which  was  allowed  to  my  ani- 
mals for  necessary  repose,  all  the  arrangements  had  b^en 
completed,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  we  resumed  our 
respective  routes.  Some  little  trouble  was  experienced  in 
crossing  the  Platte,  the  waters  of  which  were  still  kept  up  by 
rains  and  melting  snow  ;  and  having  traveled  only  about  four 
miles,  we  encamped  in  the  evening  on  Thompson's  creek,  where 
we  were  very  much  disturbed  by  musquitoes. 

The  following  days  we  continued  our  march  westward  over 


150  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JuLT, 

comparative  plains,  and,  fording  the  Cache-a-la-Poudre  on  the 
morning  of  the  28th,  entered  the  Black  hills,  and  nooned  on 
this  stream  in  the  mountains  beyond  them.  Passing  over  a 
fine  large  bottom  in  the  afternoon,  we  reached  a  place  where 
the  river  was  shut  up  in  the  hills ;  and,  ascending  a  ravine, 
made  a  laborious  and  very  difficult  passage  around  by  a  gap, 
striking  the  river  again  about  dusk.  A  little  labor,  however, 
would  remove  this  difficulty,  and  render  the  road  to  this  point 
a  very  excellent  one.  The  evening  closed  in  dark  with  rain, 
and  the  mountains  looked  gloomy. 

29th. — Leaving  our  encampment  about  seven  in  the  morn- 
ing, we  traveled  until  three  in  the  afternoon  along  the  river, 
which,  for  the  distance  of  about  six  miles,  runs  directly  through 
a  spur  of  the  main  mountains. 

We  were  compelled  by  the  nature  of  the  ground  to  cross 
the  river  eight  or  nine  times,  at  difficult,  deep,  and  rocky 
fords,  the  stream  running  with  great  force,  swollen  by  the 
rains — a  true  mountain  torrent,  only  forty  or  fifty  feet  wide. 
It  was  a  mountain  valley  of  the  narrowest  kind — almost  a 
chasm — and  the  scenery  very  wild  and  beautiful.  Towering 
mountains  rose  round  about ;  their  sides  sometimes  dark  with 
forests  of  pine,  and  sometimes  with  lofty  precipices,  washed 
by  the  river ;  while  below,  as  if  they  indemnified  themselves 
in  luxuriance  for  the  scanty  space,  the  green  river-bottom  was" 
covered  with  a  wilderness  of  flowers,  their  tall  spikes  some- 
times rising  above  our  heads  as  we  rode  among  them.  A  pro- 
fusion of  blossoms  on  a  white  flowering  vine,  (clematis  fasianthi,) 
which  was  abundant  along  the  river,  contrasted  handsomely 
with  the  green  foliage  of  the  trees.  The  mountains  appeared 
to  be  composed  of  a  greenish-gray  and  red  granite,  which  in 
some  places  appeared  to  be  in  a  state  of  decomposition,  making 
a  red  soil. 

The  stream  was  wooded  with  cottonwood,  box-elder,  and 
cherry,  with  currant  and  serviceberry  bushes.  After  a  some- 
what laborious  day,  during  which  it  had  rained  incessantly, 
we  encamped  near  the  end  of  the  pass  at  the  mouth  of  a  small 
creek,  in  sight  of  the  great  Laramie  plains.  It  continued  to 
rain  heavily,  and  at  evening  the  mountains  were  hid  in  mists ; 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  151 

but  there  was  no  lack  of  wood,  and  the  large  fires  we  made  to 
dry  our  clothes  were  very  comfortable  ;  and  at  night  the  hunters 
came  in  with  a  fine  deer.  Rough  and  difficult  as  we  found  the 
pass  to-day,  an  excellent  road  may  be  made  with  a  little  labor. 
Elevation  of  the  camp  5,540  feet,  and  distance  from  St.  Vrain's 
fort  56  miles. 

30th. — The  day  was  bright  again ;  the  thermometer  at  sun- 
rise 52°  ;  and  leaving  our  encampment  at  eight  o'clock,  in 
about  half  a  mile  we  crossed  the  Cache-d-la-Poudre  river  for 
the  last  time  ;  and,  entering  a  smoother  country,  we  traveled 
along  a  kind  of  vallon,  bounded  on  the  right  by  red  buttes  and 
precipices,  while  to  the  left  a  high  rolling  country  extended  to 
a  range  of  the  Black  hills,  beyond  which  rose  the  great  moun- 
tains around  Long's  peak. 

By  the  great  quantity  of  snow  visible  among  them,  it  had 
probably  snowed  heavily  there  the  previous  day,  while  it  had 
rained  on  us  in  the  valley. 

We  halted  at  noon  on  a  small  branch ;  and  in  the  afternoon 
traveled  over  a  high  country,  gradually  ascending  towards  a 
range  of  buttes,  or  high  hills  covered  with  pines,  which  forms 
the  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  we  had  left  and  those  of 
Laramie  river. 

Late  in  the  evening  we  encamped  at  a  spring  of  cold  water, 
near  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  having  increased  our  elevation 
to  7,520  feet.  During  the  day  we  had  traveled  24  miles.  By 
some  indifferent  observations,  our  latitude  is  41°  02'  19".  A 
species  of  kedeome  was  characteristic  along  the  whole  day's 
route. 

Emerging  from  the  mountains,  we  entered  a  region  of  bright, 
fair  weather.  In  my  experience  in  this  country,  I  was  forci- 
bly impressed  with  the  Jifferent  character  of  the  climate  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range.  The  vast  prairie 
plain  on  the  east  is  like  the  ocean ;  the  rain  and  clouds  from 
the  constantly  evaporating  snow  of  the  mountains  rushing  down 
into  the  heated  air  of  the  plains,  on  which  you  will  have  occa- 
sion to  remark  the  frequent  storms  of  rain  we  encountered  du- 
ring our  journey. 

31st. — The  morning  was  clear ;  temperature  48°.     A  fine 


152  CAPT.    FREMONi'S    NARRATIVE.  [JlJLY, 

rolling  road,  among  piny  and  grassy  hills,  brought  us  this  morn- 
ing into  a  large  trail  where  an  Indian  village  had  recently 
passed.  The  weather  was  pleasant  and  cool ;  we  were  dis- 
turbed by  neither  musquitoes  nor  flies ;  and  the  country  was 
certainly  extremely  beautiful.  The  slopes  and  broad  ravines 
were  absolutely  covered  with  fields  of  flowers  of  the  most  ex- 
quisitely beautiful  colors.  Among  those  which  had  not  hith- 
erto made  their  appearance,  and  which  here  were  character- 
istic, was  a  new  delphinium,  of  a  green  and  lustrous  metallic 
blue  color,  mingled  with  compact  fields  of  several  bright-col- 
ored varieties  of  astragalus,  which  were  crowded  together  in 
splendid  profusion.  This  trail  conducted  us,  through  a  remark- 
able defile,  to  a  little  timbered  creek,  up  which  we  wound  our 
way,  passing  by  a  singular  and  massive  wall  of  dark- red  gran- 
ite. The  formation  of  the  country  is  a  red  feldspathic  granite, 
overlaying  a  decomposing  mass  of  the  same  rock,  forming  the 
soil  of  all  this  region,  which  everywhere  is  red  and  gravelly, 
and  appears  to  be  of  a  great  floral  fertility. 

As  we  emerged  on  a  small  tributary  of  the  Laramie  river, 
coming  in  sight  of  its  principal  stream,  the  flora  became  per- 
fectly magnificent;  and  we  congratulated  ourselves,  as  we 
rode  along  our  pleasant  road,  that  we  had  substituted  this  for 
the  uninteresting  country  between  Laramie  hills  and  the  Sweet 
Water  valley.  We  had  no  meat  for  supper  last  night  or  break- 
fast this  morning,  and  were  glad  to  see  Carson  come  in  at  noon 
with  a  good  antelope. 

A  meridian  observation  of  the  sun  placed  us  in  latitude 
41°  04'  06".  In  the  evening  we  encamped  on  the  Laramie 
river,  which  is  here  very  thinly  timbered  with  scattered  groups 
of  cottonwood  at  considerable  intervals.  From  our  camp,  we 
are  able  to  distinguish  the  gorges,  in  which  are  the  sources  of 
Cache-a-la-Poudre  and  Laramie  rivers  ;  and  the  Medicine  Bow 
mountain,  towards  the  point  of  which  we  are  directing  oui 
course  this  afternoon,  has  been  in  sight  the  greater  part  of  the 
day.  By  observation  the  latitude  was  41°  15'  02",  and  longi- 
tude 106°  16'  54".  The  same  beautiful  flora  continued  till 
about  four  in  the  afternoon,  when  it  suddenly  disappeared,  with 
the  red  soil,  which  became  sandy,  and  of  a  whitish-gray  color. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  153 

The  evening  was  tolerably  clear  ;  temperature  at  sunset  64°. 
The  day's  journey  was  30  miles. 


AUGUST. 

1st. — The  morning  was  calm  and  clear,  with  sunnse  tern- 
perature  at  42°.  We  traveled  to-day  over  a  plain,  or  open 
rolling  country,  at  the  foot  of  the  Medicine  Bow  mountain ; 
the  soil  in  the  morning  being  sandy,  with  fragments  of  rock 
abundant,  and  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  approached  closer 
to  the  mountain,  so  stony  that  we  made  but  little  way.  The 
beautiful  plants  of  yesterday  reappeared  occasionally  ;  flax  in 
bloom  occurred  during  the  morning,  and  esparcette  in  luxu- 
riant abundance  was  a  characteristic  of  the  stony  ground  in  the 
afternoon.  The  camp  was  roused  into  a  little  excitement  by 
a  chase  after  a  buffalo  bull,  and  an  encounter  with  a  war 
party  of  Sioux  and  Cheyenne  Indians  about  30  strong.  Hares 
and  antelope  were  seen  during  the  day,  and  one  of  the  latter 
was  killed.  The  Laramie  peak  was  in  sight  this  afternoon. 
The  evening  was  clear,  with  scattered  clouds ;  temperature 
62°.  The  day's  journey  was  26  miles. 

2d. — Temperature  at  sunrise  52°,  and  scenery  and  weather 
made  our  road  to-day  delightful.  The  neighboring  mountain 
is  thickly  studded  with  pines,  intermingled  with  the  brighter 
foliage  of  aspens,  and  occasional  spots  like  lawns  between  the 
patches  of  snow  among  the  pines,  and  here  and  there  on  the 
heights.  Our  route  below  lay  over  a  comparative  plain,  cov- 
ered with  the  same  brilliant  vegetation,  and  the  day  was  clear 
and  pleasantly  cool.  During  the  morning,  we  crossed  many 
streams,  clear  and  rocky,  and  broad  grassy  valleys,  of  a  strong 
black  soil,  washed  down  from  the  mountains,  and  producing 
excellent  pasturage.  These  were  timbered  with  the  red  wil- 
low and  long-leaved  cottonwood,  mingled  with  aspen,  as  we 
approached  the  mountain  more  nearly  towards  noon.  Espar- 
cette was  a  characteristic,  and  flax  occurred  frequently  in 
bloom.  We  halted  at  noon  on  the  most  western  fork  of  Lara- 
7* 


154  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NAREATIVE.  [Atro. 

mie  river — a  handsome  stream  about  sixty  feet  wide  and  two 
feet  deep,  with  clear  water  and  a  swift  current,  over  a  bed 
composed  entirely  of  boulders  or  roll-stones.  There  was  a 
large  open  bottom  here,  on  which  were  many  lodge  poles  lying 
about :  and  in  the  edge  of  the  surrounding  timber  were  three 
strong  forts,  that  appeared  to  have  been  recently  occupied.  At 
this  place  I  became  first  acquainted  with  the  yampah,  (anethum 
graveolens,)  which  I  found  our  Snake  woman  engaged  in  dig- 
ging  in  the  low  timbered  bottom  of  the  creek.  Among  the 
Indians  along  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  more  particularly 
among  the  Shoshonee  or  Snake  Indians,  in  whose  territory  it 
is  very  abundant,  this  is  considered  the  best  among  the  roots 
used  for  food.  To  us  it  was  an  interesting  plant — a  little  link 
between  the  savage  and  civilized  life*  Here,  among  the  In- 
dians, its  root  is  a  common  article  of  food,  which  they  take 
pleasure  in  offering  to  strangers ;  while  with  us,  in  a  consider- 
able portion  of  America  and  Europe,  the  seeds  are  used  to 
flavor  soup.  It  grows  more  abundantly,  and  in  greater  luxu- 
riance, on  one  of  the  neighboring  tributaries  of  the  Colorado, 
than  in  any  other  part  of  this  region ;  and  on  that  stream,  to 
which  the  Snakes  are  accustomed  to  resort  every  year  to  pro- 
cure a  supply  of  their  favorite  plant,  they  have  bestowed  the 
name  of  Yampah  river.  Among  the  trappers  it  is  generally 
known  as  Little  Snake  river ;  but  in  this  and  other  instances, 
where  it  illustrated  the  history  of  the  people  inhabiting  the 
country,  I  have  preferred  to  retain  on  the  map  the  aboriginal 
name.  By  a  meridional  observation,  the  latitude  is  41°  45' 59" 
In  the  afternoon  we  took  our  way  directly  across  the  spurs 
from  the  point  of  the  mountain,  where  we  had  several  ridges 
to  cross ;  and,  although  the  road  was  not  rendered  bad  by  the 
nature  of  the  ground,  it  was  made  extremely  rough  by  the  stiff 
tough  bushes  of  artemisia  tridentata,*  in  this  country  commonly 
called  sage. 


*  The  greater  portion  of  our  subsequent  journey  was  through  a  region 
where  this  shrub  constituted  the  tree  of  the  country ;  and,  as  it  will  often 
be  mentioned  in  occasional  descriptions,  the  word  ar.cmisia  only  will  be 
used,  without  the  specific  name. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  155 

This  shrub  now  began  to  make  its  appearance  in  compact 
fields  ;  and  we  were  about  to  quit  for  a  long  time  this  country 
of  excellent  pasturage  and  brilliant  flowers.  Ten  or  twelve 
buffalo  bulls  were  seen  during  the  afternoon ;  and  we  were 
surprised  by  the  appearance  of  a  large  red  ox.  We  gathered 
around  him  as  if  he  had  been  an  old  acquaintance,  with  all 
our  domestic  feelings  as  much  awakened  as  if  we  had  come  in 
sight  of  an  old  farm-house.  He  had  probably  made  his  escape 
from  some  party  of  emigrants  on  Green  river  ;  and,  with  a 
vivid  remembrance  of  some  old  green  field,  he  was  pursuing 
the  straightest  course  for  the  frontier  that  the  country  admitted. 
We  carried  him  klong  with  us  as  a  prize  ;  and,  when  it  was 
found  in  the  morning  that  he  had  wandered  off,  I  would  not 
let  him  be  pursued,  for  I  would  rather  have  gone  through  a 
starving  time  of  three  entire  days,  than  let  him  be  killed  after 
he  had  successfully  run  the  gauntlet  so  far  among  the  Indians. 
I  have  been  told  by  Mr.  Bent's  people  of  an  ox  born  and  rais- 
ed at  St.  Vrain's  fort,  which  made  his  escape  from  them  at 
Elm  grove,  near  the  frontier,  having  come  in  that  year  with 
the  wagons.  They  were  on  their  way  out,  and  saw  occasion- 
ally places  where  he  had  eaten  and  laid  down  to  rest ;  but  did 
not  see  him  for  about  700  miles,  when  they  overtook  him  on 
the  road,  traveling  along  to  the  fort,  having  unaccountably 
escaped  Indians  and  every  other  mischance. 

We  encamped  at  evening  on  the  principal  fork  of  Medicine 
Bow  river,  near  to  an  isolated  mountain  called  the  Medicine 
Suite,  which  appeared  to  be  about  1,800  feet  above  the  plain, 
from  which  it  rises  abruptly,  and  was  still  white,  nearly  to  its 
base,  with  a  great  quantity  of  snow.  The  streams  were  tim- 
bered with  the  long-leaved  cotton  wood  and  red  willow ;  and 
during  the  afternoon  a  species  of  onion  was  very  abundant.  I 
obtained  here  an  immersion  of  the  first  satellite  of  Jupiter, 
which,  corresponding  very  nearly  with  the  chronometer, 
placed  us  in  longitude  106°  47'  25".  The  latitude,  by  obser- 
vation, was  41°  37'  16";  elevation  above  the  sea,  7,800  feet, 
and  distance  from  St.  Vrain's  fort,  147  miles. 

3d. — There  was  a  white  frost  last  night ;  the  morning  is 
clear  and  cool.  We  were  early  on  the  road,  having  break- 


156  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [AUG. 

fasted  before  sunrise,  and  in  a  few  miles'  travel  entered  the 
pass  of  the  Medicine  Butte,  through  which  led  a  broad  trail, 
which  had  been  recently  traveled  by  a  very  large  party.  Im- 
mediately in  the  pass,  the  road  was  broken  by  ravines,  and  we 
were  obliged  to  clear  a  way  through  groves  of  aspens,  which 
generally  made  their  appearance  when  we  reached  elevated 
regions.  According  to  the  barometer,  this  was  8,300  feet ;  and 
while  we  were  detained  in  opening  a  road,  I  obtained  a  meri- 
dional observation  of  the  sun,  which  gave  41°  35'  48X/  for  the 
latitude  of  the  pass.  The  Medicine  Butte  is  isolated  by  a 
small  tributary  of  the  North  fork  of  the  Plattey  but  the  moun- 
tains approach  each  other  very  nearly ;  the  stream  running  at 
their  feet.  On  the  south  they  are  smooth,  with  occasional 
streaks  of  pine ;  but  the  butte  itself  is.  ragged,  with  escarp- 
ments of  red  feldspathic  granite,  and  dark  with  pines ;  the 
snow  reaching  froni  the  summit  to  within  a  few  hundred  feet 
of  the  trail.  The  granite  here  was  more  compact  and  durable 
than  that  in  the  formation  which  we  had  passed  through  a  few 
days  before  to  the  eastward  of  Laramie.  Continuing  our  way 
over  a  plain  on  the  west  side  of  the  pass,  where  the  road  was 
terribly  rough  with  artemisia,  we  made  our  evening  encamp, 
rnent  on  the  creek,  where  it  took  a  northern  direction,  unfavor- 
ably to  the  course  we  were  pursuing.  Bands  of  buffalo  were 
discovered  as  we  came  down  upon  the  plain ;  and  Carson 
brought  into  the  camp  a  cow  which  had  the  fat  on  the  fleece 
two  inches  thick.  Even  in  this  country  of  rich  pasturage  and 
abundant  game,  it  is  rare  that  a  hunter  chances  upon  a  finer 
animal.  Our  voyage  had  already  been  long,  but  this  was  the 
first  good  buffalo  meat  we  had  obtained.  We  traveled  to-day 
26  miles. 

4th. — The  morning  was  clear  and  calm ;  and,  leaving  the 
creek,  we  traveled  towards  the  North  fork  of  the  Platte,  over 
a  plain  which  was  rendered  rough  and  broken  by  ravines. 
With  the  exception  of  some  thin  grasses,  the  sandy  soil  here 
was  occupied  almost  exclusively  by  artemisia,  with  its  usual 
turpentine  odor.  We  had  expected  to  meet  with  some  difficulty 
in  crossing  the  river,  but  happened  to  strike  it  where  there  was 
a  very  excellent  ford,  and  halted  to  noon  on  the  left  bank,  two 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  .  .      157 

hundred  miles  from  St.  Vrain's  fort.  The  hunters  brought  in 
pack-animals  loaded  with  fine  meat.  According  to  our  imper- 
fect knowledge  of  the  country,  there  should  have  been  a  small 
affluent  to  this  stream  a  few  miles  higher  up ;  and  in  the  after- 
noon we  continued  our  way  among  the  river  hills,  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  encamping  upon  it  in  the  evening.  The  ground 
proved  to  be  so  exceedingly  difficult,  broken  up  into  hills,  ter- 
minating in  escarpments  and  broad  ravines,  five  hundred  or 
six  hundred  feet  deep,  with  sides  so  precipitous  that  we  could 
scarcely  find  a  place  to  descend,  that,  towards  sunset,  I  turned 
directly  in  towards  the  river,  and,  after  nightfall,  entered  a  sort 
of  ravine.  We  were  obliged  to  feel  our  way,  and  clear  a  road 
in  the  darkness ;  the  surface  being  much  broken,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  the  carriages  being  greatly  obstructed  by  the  artemi- 
sia,  which  had  a  luxuriant  growth  of  four  to  six  feet  in  height. 
We  had  scrambled  along  this  gulley  for  several  hours,  during 
which  we  had  knocked  off  the  carriage-lamps,  broken  a  ther- 
mometer and  several  small  articles,  when,  fearing  to  lose  some- 
thing of  more  importance,  I  halted  for  the  night  at  ten  o'clock 
Our  animals  were  turned  down  towards  the  river,  that  they 
might  pick  up  what  little  grass  they  could  find ;  and  after  a 
little  search,  some  water  was  found  in  a  small  ravine,  and  im- 
proved by  digging.  We  lighted  up  the  ravine  with  fires  of 
artemisia,  and  about  midnight  sat  down  to  a  supper  which  we 
were  hungry  enough  to  find  delightful — although  the  buffalo- 
meat  was  crusted  with  sand,  and  the  coffee  was  bitter  with  the 
wormwood  taste  of  the  artemisia  leaves. 

A  successful  day's  hunt  had  kept  our  hunters  occupied  until 
late,  and  they  slept  out,  but  rejoined  us  at  daybreak,  when, 
finding  ourselves  only  about  a  rnile  from  the  river,  we  followed 
the  ravine  down,  and  camped  in  a  cottonwood  grove  on  a  beau- 
tiful grassy  bottom,  where  our  animals  indemnified  themselves 
for  the  scanty  fare  of  the  past  night.  It  was  quite  a  pretty 
and  pleasant  place  ;  a  narrow  strip  of  prairie,  about  five  hun- 
dred yards  long,  terminated  at  the  ravine  where  we  entered 
by  high  precipitous  hills  closing  in  upon  the  river,  and  at  the 
upper  end  by  a  ridge  of  low  rolling  hills. 

In  the  precipitous   bluffs  were  displayed   K  succession  of 


158  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Ana. 

strata  containing  fossil  vegetable  remains,  and  several  beds  of 
coal.  In  some  of  the  beds  the  coal  did  not  appear  to  be  per- 
fectly mineralized,  and  in  some  of  the  seams  it  was  compact, 
and  remarkably  lustrous.  In  these  latter  places,  there  were 
also  thin  layers  of  a  very  fine  white  salts,  in  powder.  As  we 
had  a  large  supply  of  meat  in  the  camp,  which  it  was  necessary 
to  dry,  and  the  surrounding  country  appeared  to  be  well  stocked 
with  buffalo,  which  it  was  probable,  after  a  day  or  two,  we 
would  not  see  again  until  our  return  to  the  Mississippi  waters, 
I  determined  to  make  here  a  provision  of  dried  meat,  which 
would  be  necessary  for  our  subsistence  in  the  region  we  were 
about  entering,  which  was  said  to  be  nearly  destitute  of  game. 
Scaffolds  were  accordingly  soon  erected,  fires  made,  and  the  meat 
cut  into  thin  slices  to  be  dried ;  and  all  were  busily  occupied, 
when  the  camp  was  thrown  into  a  sudden  tumult,  by  a  charge 
from  about  seventy  mounted  Indians,  over  the  low  hills  at  the  up- 
per end  of  the  little  bottom.  Fortunately,  the  guard,  who  was 
between  them  and  our  animals,  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  an  In- 
dian's head,  as  he  raised  himself  in  his  stirrups  to  look  over  the 
hill,  a  moment  before  he  made  the  charge,  and  succeeded  in  turn- 
ing the  band  into  the  camp,  as  the  Indians  charged  into  the  bottom 
with  the  usual  yell.  Before  they  reached  us,  the  grove  on  the 
verge  of  the  little  bottom  was  occupied  by  our  people,  and  the  In- 
dians brought  to  a  sudden  halt,  which  they  made  in  time  to  save 
themselves  from  a  howitzer  shot,  which  would  undoubtedly  have 
been  very  effective  in  such  a  compact  body ;  and  further  pro- 
ceedings were  interrupted  by  their  signs  for  peace.  They 
proved  to  be  a  war  party  of  Arapaho  and  Cheyenne  Indians, 
and  informed  us  that  they  had  charged  upon  the  camp  under 
the  belief  that  we  were  hostile  Indians,  and  had  discovered 
their  mistake  only  at  the  moment  of  the  attack — an  excuse 
which  policy  required  us  to  receive  as  true,  though  under  the 
full  conviction  that  the  display  of  our  little  howitzer,  and  our 
favorable  position  in  the  grove,  certainly  saved  our  horses,  and 
probably  ourselves,  from  their  marauding  intentions.  They 
had  been  on  a  war  party,  and  had  been  defeated,  and  were 
consequently  in  the  state  of  mind  which  aggravates  their  innate 
thiret  for  plunder  and  blood.  Their  excuse,  however,  was 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  159 

taken  in  good  part,  and  the  usual  evidences  of  friendship  inter, 
changed.  The  pipe  went  round,  provisions  were  spread,  and 
the  tobacco  and  goods  furnished  the  customary  presents,  which 
they  look  for  even  from  traders,  and  much  more  from  govern- 
ment authorities. 

They  were  returning  from  an  expedition  against  the  Sho- 
shonee  Indians,  one  of  whose  villages  they  had  surprised,  at 
Bridger's  fort,  on  Ham's  fork  of  Green  river,  (in  the  absence 
of  the  men,  who  were  engaged  in  an  antelope  surround,)  and 
succeeded  in  carrying  off  their  horses,  and  taking  several 
scalps.  News  of  the  attack  reached  the  Snakes  immediately, 
who  pursued  and  overtook  them,  and  recovered  their  horses ; 
and,  in  the  running  fight  which  ensued,  the  Arapahoes  had 
lost  several  men  killed,  and  a  number  wounded,  who  were 
coming  on  more  slowly  with  a  party  in  the  rear.  Nearly  all 
the  horses  they  had  brought  off  were  the  property  of  the  whites 
at  the  fort.  After  remaining  until  nearly  sunset,  they  took  their 
departure  ;  and  the  excitement  which  their  arrival  had  afforded 
subsided  into  our  usual  quiet,  a  little  enlivened  by  the  vigilance 
rendered  necessary  by  the  neighborhood  of  our  uncertain 
visitors.  At  noon  the  thermometer  was  at  75°,  at  sunset  70°, 
and  the  evening  clear.  Elevation  above  the  sea  6,820  feet ; 
latitude  41°  36'  00";  longitude  107°  22'  27". 

6th. — At  sunrise  the  thermometer  was  46°,  the  morning 
being  clear  and  calm.  We  traveled  to-day  over  an  extremely 
rugged  country,  barren  and  uninteresting — nothing  to  be  seen 
but  artemisia  bushes  ;  and,  in  the  evening,  found  a  grassy 
spot  among  the  hills,  kept  green  by  several  springs,  where  we 
encamped  late.  Within  a  few  hundred  yards  was  a  very 
pretty  little  stream  of  clear  cool  water,  whose  green  banks 
looked  refreshing  among  the  dry,  rocky  hills.  The  hunters 
brought  in  a  fat  mountain  sheep,  (ovis  montana.) 

Our  road  the  next  day  was  through  a  continued  and  dense 
field  of  artemisia,  which  now  entirely  covered  the  country  hi 
such  a  luxuriant  growth  that  it  was  difficult  and  laborious  for 
a  man  on  foot  to  force  his  way  through,  and  nearly  impractica- 
ble for  our  light  carriages.  The  region  through  which  we 
were  traveling  was  a  high  plateau,  constituting  the  dividing 


160  CAPT. 

ridge  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and 
extending  to  a  considerable  distance  southward,  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Table  rock,  at  the  southern  side  of  the  South 
Pass.  Though  broken  up  into  rugged  and  rocky  hills  of  a  dry 
and  barren  nature,  it  has  nothing  of  a  mountainous  character  ; 
the  small  streams  which  occasionally  occur  belonging  neither 
to  the  Platte  nor  the  Colorado,  but  losing  themselves  either  in 
the  sand  or  in  small  lakes.  From  an  eminence,  in  the  after- 
noon, a  mountainous  range  became  visible  in  the  north,  in 
which  were  recognised  some  rocky  peaks  belonging  to  the 
range  of  the  Sweet  Water  valley  ;  and,  determining  to  aban- 
don any  further  attempt  to  struggle  through  this  almost  im- 
practicable country,  we  turned  our  course  directly  north,  to- 
wards a  pass  in  the  valley  of  the  Sweet  Water  river.  A  shaft 
of  the  gun-carriage  was  broken  during  the  afternoon,  causing 
a  considerable  delay ;  and  it  was  late  in  an  unpleasant  even- 
ing before  we  succeeded  in  finding  a  very  poor  encampment, 
where  there  was  a  little  water  in  a  deep  trench  of  a  creek,  and 
some  scanty  grass  among  the  shrubs.  All  the  game  here  con- 
sisted of  a  few  straggling  buffalo  bulls,  and  during  the  day 
there  had  been  but  very  little  grass,  except  in  some  green 
spots  where  it  had  collected  around  springs  or  shallow  lakes. 
Within  fifty  miles  of  the  Sweet  Water,  the  country  changed 
into  a  vast  saline  plain,  in  many  places  extremely  level,  occa- 
sionally resembling  the  flat  sandy  beds  of  shallow  lakes. 
Here  the  vegetation  consisted  of  a  shrubby  growth,  among 
which  were  several  varieties  of  chenopodiaceous  plants  ;  but 
the  characteristic  shrub  was  Fremontia  vermicularis,  with 
smaller  saline  shrubs  growing  with  singular  luxuriance,  and 
in  many  places  holding  exclusive  possession  of  the  ground. 

On  the  evening  of  the  8th  we  encamped  on  one  of  these 
fresh-water  lakes,  which  the  traveler  considers  himself  fortu- 
nate to  find  ;  and  the  next  day,  in  latitude,  by  observation,  42° 
20'  06",  halted  to  noon  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  southern 
side  of  the  range  which  walls  in  the  Sweet  Water  valley,  on 
the  head  of  a  small  tributary  to  that  river. 

Continuing  in  the  afternoon  our  course  down  the  stream, 
which  here  cuts  directly  through  the  ridge,  forming  a  very 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  161 

practicable  pass,  we  entered  the  valley  ;  and,  after  a  march 
of  about  nine  miles,  encamped  on  our  familiar  river,  endeared 
to  us  by  the  acquaintance  of  the  previous  expedition — the  night 
having  already  closed  in  with  a  cold  rain-storm.  Our  camp 
was  about  twenty  miles  above  the  Devil's  gate,  which  we  had 
been  able  to  see  in  coming  down  the  plain  ;  and,  in  the  couise 
of  the  night,  the  clouds  broke  away  around  Jupiter  for  a  short 
time,  during  which  we  obtained  an  emersion  of  the  first  satel- 
lite, the  result  of  which  agreed  very  nearly  with  the  chronom- 
eter, giving  for  the  mean  longitude  107°  50'  01" ;  elevation 
above  the  sea  6,040  feet ;  and  distance  from  St.  Vrain's  fort, 
by  the  road  we  had  just  traveled,  315  miles. 

Here  passes  the  road  to  Oregon  ;  and  the  broad  smooth 
highway,  where  the  numerous  heavy  wagons  of  the  emigrants 
had  entirely  beaten  and  crushed  the  artemisia,  was  a  happy 
exchange  to  our  poor  animals,  for  the  sharp  rocks  and  tough 
shrubs  among  which  they  had  been  toiling  so  long  ;  and  we 
moved  up  the  valley  rapidly  and  pleasantly.  With  very  little 
deviation  from  our  route  of  the  preceding  year,  we  continued 
up  the  valley  ;  and  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  encamped  on 
the  Sweet  Water,  at  a  point  where  the  road  turns  off  to  cross 
to  the  plains  of  Green  river.  The  increased  coolness  of  the 
weather  indicated  that  we  had  attained  a  greater  elevation, 
which  the  barometer  here  placed  at  7,220  feet ;  and  during  the 
night  water  froze  in  the  lodge. 

The  morning  of  the  13th  was  clear  and  cold,  there  being  a 
white-frost,  and  the  thermometer,  a  little  before  sunrise,  stand- 
ing at  26 -5°.  Leaving  this  encampment,  (our  last  on  the  wa- 
ters which  flow  towards  the  rising  sun,)  we  took  our  way  along 
the  upland,  towards  the  dividing  ridge  which  separates  the 
Atlantic  from  the  Pacific  waters,  and  crossed  it  by  a  road 
some  miles  further  south  than  the  one  we  had  followed  on  our 
return  in  1842.  We  crossed  very  near  the  Table  mountain, 
at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  South  Pass,  which  is  near 
twenty  miles  in  width,  and  already  traversed  by  several  differ- 
ent roads.  Selecting,  as  well  as  I  could,  in  the  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable ascent,  what  might  be  considered  the  dividing 
ridge  in  this  remarkable  depression  in  the  mountain,  I  took  a 


162  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Aua. 

barometrical  observation,  which  gave  7,490  feet  for  the  eleva- 
tion above  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  You  will  remember  that,  in 
my  report  of  1842,  I  estimated  the  elevation  of  this  pass  at 
about  7,000  feet ;  a  correct  observation  with  a  good  barometer 
enables  me  to  give  it  with  more  precision.  Its  importance, 
as  the  great  gate  through  which  commerce  and  traveling 
may  hereafter  pass  between  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  North  Pacific,  justifies  a  precise  notice  of  its  locality  and 
distance  from  leading  points,  in  addition  to  this  statement  of  its 
elevation.  As  stated  in  the  report  of  1842,  its  latitude,  at  the 
point  where  we  crossed,  is  42°  24'  32";  its  longitude  109° 
26'  00" ;  its  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas,  by  the 
common  traveling  route,  962  miles ;  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Platte,  along  the  valley  of  that  river,  according  to  our 
survey  of  1842,  882  miles;  and  its  distance  from  St.  Louis 
about  400  miles  more  by  the  Kansas,  and  about  700  by 
the  Great  Platte  route  ;  these  additions  being  steamboat  con- 
veyance in  both  instances.  From  this  pass  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Oregon  is  about  1,400  miles  by  the  common  traveling  route  ; 
so  that  under  a  general  point  of  view,  it  may  be  assumed  to  be 
about  half-way  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific  ocean, 
on  the  common  traveling  route.  Following  a  hollow  of  slight 
and  easy  descent,  in  which  was  very  soon  formed  a  little  trib- 
utary to  the  Gulf  of  California,  (for  the  waters  which  flow  west 
from  the  South  Pass  go  to  this  gulf,)  we  made  our  usual  halt 
four  miles  from  the  pass,  in  latitude,  by  observation,  42°  19/ 
53".  Entering  here  the  valley  of  Green  river — the  great 
Colorado  of  the  West — and  inclining  very  much  to  the  south- 
ward along  the" streams  which  form  the  Sandy  river,  the  road 
led  for  several  days  over  dry  and  level  uninteresting  plains  ; 
to  which  a  low  scrubby  growth  of  artemisia  gave  a  uniform 
dull  grayish  color ;  and  on  the  evening  of  the  15th  we  en- 
camped in  the  Mexican  territory,  on  the  left  bank  of  Green 
river,  69  miles  from  the  South  Pass,  in  longitude  110°  05'  05", 
and  latitude  41°  53'  54",  distant  1,031  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Kansas.  This  is  the  emigrant  road  to  Oregon,  which 
bears  much  to  the  southward,  to  avoid  the  mountains  about  the 
western  heads  of  Green  river — the  Rio  Verde  of  the  Spaniards. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  163 

16th. — Crossing  the  river,  here  about  400  feet  wide,  by  a 
very  good  ford,  we  continued  to  descend  for  seven  or  eight 
miles  on  a  pleasant  road  along  the  right  bank  of  the  stream, 
of  which  the  islands  and  shores  are  handsomely  timbered  with 
cotton  wood.  The  refreshing  appearance  of  the  broad  river, 
with  its  timbered  shores  and  green  wooded  islands,  in  contrast 
to  its  dry  and  sandy  plains,  probably  obtained  for  it  the  name 
of  Green  river,  which  was  bestowed  on  it  by  the  Spaniards 
who  first  came  into  this  country  to  trade  some  25  years  ago. 
It  was  then  familiarly  known  as  the  Seeds-ke-dee-agie,  or 
Prairie  Hen  (tetrao  urophasianus)  river ;  a  name  which  it  re- 
ceived from  the  Crows,  to  whom  its  upper  waters  belong,  and 
on  which  this  bird  is  still  very  abundant.  By  the  Shoshonee 
and  Utah  Indians,  to  whom  belongs,  for  a  considerable  distance 
below,  the  country  where  we  were  now  traveling,  it  was  called 
the  Bitter  Root  river,  from  a  great  abundance  in  its  valley  of 
a  plant  which  affords  them  one  of  their  favorite  roots.  Lower 
down,  from  Brown's  hole  to  the  southward,  the  river  runs 
through  lofty  chasms,  walled  in  by  precipices  of  red  rock ; 
and  even  among  the  wilder  tribes  which  inhabit  that  portion  of 
its  course,  I  have  heard  it  called  by  Indian  refugees  from  the 
California  settlements  the  Rio  Colorado.  We  halted  to  noon 
at  the  upper  end  of  a  large  bottom,  near  some  old  houses, 
which  had  been  a  trading  post,  in  lat.  41°  46'  54".  At  this 
place  the  elevation  of  the  river  above  the  sea  is  6,230  feet. 
That  of  Lewis's  fork  of  the  Columbia  at  Fort  Hall  is,  accord- 
ing to  our  subsequent  observations,  4,500  feet.  The  descent 
of  each  stream  is  rapid,  but  that  of  the  Colorado  is  but  little 
known,  and  that  little  derived  from  vague  report.  Three 
hundred  miles  of  its  lower  part,  as  it  approaches  the  Gulf  of 
California,  is  reported  to  be  smooth  and  tranquil ;  but  its  upper 
part  is  manifestly  broken  into  many  falls  and  rapids.  From 
many  descriptions  of  trappers,  it  is  probable  that  in  its  foaming 
course  among  its  lofty  precipices  it  presents  many  scenes  of 
wild  grandeur ;  and  though  offering  many  temptations,  and 
often  discussed,  no  trappers  have  been  found  bold  enough  to 
undertake  a  voyage  which  has  so  certain  a  prospect  of  a  fatal 
termination.  The  Indians  have  strange  stories  of  beautiful 


164  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Aus. 

valleys  abounding  with  beaver,  shut  up  among  inaccessible 
walls  of  rock  in  the  lower  course  of  the  river ;  and  to  which 
the  neighboring  Indians,  in  their  occasional  wars  with  the 
Spaniards  and  among  themselves,  drive  their  herds  of  cattle 
and  flocks  of  sheep,  leaving  them  to  pasture  in  perfect  se- 
curity. 

The  road  here  leaves  the  river,  which  bends  considerably  to 
the  east;  and  in  the  afternoon  we  resumed  our  westerly 
course,  passing  over  a  somewhat  high  and  broken  country ; 
and  about  sunset,  after  a  day's  travel  of  26  miles,  reached 
Black's  fork  of  the  Green  river — a  shallow  stream,  with  a 
somewhat  sluggish  current,  about  120  feet  wide,  timbered  prin- 
cipally with  willow,  and  here  and  there  an  occasional  large 
tree.  At  three  in  the  morning  I  obtained  an  observation  of  an 
emersion  of  the  first  satellite  of  Jupiter,  with  other  observations. 
The  heavy  wagons  have  so  completely  pulverized  the  soil,  that 
clouds  of  fine  light  dust  are  raised  by  the  slightest  wind,  ma- 
king the  road  sometimes  very  disagreeable. 

17th. — Leaving  our  encampment  at  six  in  the  morning,  we 
traveled  along  the  bottom,  which  is  about  two  miles  wide, 
bordered  by  low  hills,  in  which  the  strata  contained  handsome 
and  very  distinct  vegetable  fossils.  In  a  gully  a  short  distance 
farther  up  the  river,  and  underlying  these,  was  exposed  a 
stratum  of  an  impure  or  argillaceous  limestone.  Crossing  on 
the  way  Black's  fork,  where  it  is  one  foot  deep  and  forty  wide, 
with  clear  water  and  a  pebbly  bed,  in  nine  miles  we  reached 
Ham's  fork,  a  tributary  to  the  former  stream,  having  now 
about  sixty  feet  breadth,  and  a  few  inches  depth  of  water.  It 
is  wooded  with  thickets  of  red  willow,  and  in  the  bottom  is  a 
tolerably  strong  growth  of  grass.  The  road  here  makes  a 
traverse  of  twelve  miles  across  a  bend  of  the  river.  Passing 
in  the  way  some  remarkable  hills,  two  or  three  hundred  feet 
high,  with  frequent  and  nearly  vertical  escarpments  of  a  green 
stone,  consisting  of  an  argillaceous  carbonate  of  lime,  alter- 
nating with  strata  of  an  iron-brown  limestone,  and  worked  into 
picturesque  forms  by  wind  and  rain,  at  two  in  the  afternoon 
we  reached  the  river  again,  having  made  to-day  21  miles. 
Since  crossing  the  great  dividing  ridge  of  the  Rocky  moun- 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  165 

tains,  plants  have  been  v«ry  few  in  variety,  the  country  being 
covered  principally  with  artemisia. 

18th. — We  passed  on  the  road,  this  morning,  the  grave  of 
one  of  the  emigrants,  being  the  second  we  had  seen  since  fall- 
ing into  their  trail ;  and  halted  to  noon  on  the  river,  a  short 
distance  above. 

The  Shoshonee  woman  took  leave  of  us  here,  expecting  to 
find  some  of  her  relations  at  Bridger's  fort,  which  is  only  a 
mile  or  two  distant,  on  a  fork  of  this  stream.  In  the .  evening 
we  encamped  on  a  salt  creek,  about  fifteen  feet  wide,  having 
to-day  traveled  32  miles. 

I  obtained  an  emersion  of  the  first  satellite  under  favorable 
circumstances,  the  night  being  still  and  clear. 

One  of  our  mules  died  here,  and  in  this  portion  of  our  jour- 
ney we  lost  six  or  seven  of  our  animals.  The  grass  which  the 
country  had  lately  afforded  was  very  poor  and  insufficient ; 
and  animals  which  have  been  accustomed  to  grain  become  soon 
weak  and  unable  to  labor,  when  reduced  to  no  other  nourish- 
ment than  grass.  The  American  horses  (as  those  are  usually 
called  which  are  brought  to  this  country  from  the  States)  are 
not  of  any  serviceable  value  until  after  they  have  remained  a 
winter  in  the  country,  and  become  accustomed  to  live  entirely 
on  grass. 

19th. — Desirous  to  avoid  every  delay  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary, I  sent  on  Carson  in  advance  to  Fort  Hall  this  morning,  to 
make  arrangements  for  a  small  supply  of  provisions.  A  few 
miles  from  our  encampment,  the  road  entered  a  high  ridge, 
which  the  trappers  called  the  "  little  mountain,"  connecting  the 
Utah  with  the  Wind  River  chain ;  and  in  one  of  the  hills  near 
which  we  passed  I  remarked  strata  of  a  conglomerate  forma- 
tion, fragments  of  which  were  scattered  over  the  surface.  We 
crossed  a  ridge  of  this  conglomerate,  the  road  passing  near  a 
grove  of  low  cedar,  and  descending  upon  one  of  the  heads  of 
Ham's  fork,  called  Muddy,  where  we  made  our  mid-day  halt. 
In  the  river  hills  at  this  place,  I  discovered  strata  of  fossilifer- 
ous  rock,  having  an  oolitic  structure,  which,  in  connection 
with  the  neighboring  strata,  authorize  us  to  believe  that  here, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  we  find  repeated  the 


166  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Ana. 

modern  formations  of  Great  Britain  and  Europe,  which  have 
hitherto  been  wanting  to  complete  the  system  of  North  Ameri- 
can geology. 

In  the  afternoon  we  continued  our  road,  and  searching  among 
the  hills  a  few  miles  up  the  stream,  and  on  the  same  bank,  I 
discovered,  among  the  alternate  beds  of  coal  and  clay,  a  stra- 
tum of  white  indurated  clay,  containing  very  clear  and  beauti- 
ful impressions  of  vegetable  remains.  This  was  the  most  in- 
teresting fossil  locality  I  had  met  in  the  country,  and  I  deeply 
regretted  that  time  did  not  permit  me  to  remain  a  day  or  two 
in  the  vicinity ;  but  I  could  not  anticipate  the  delays  to  which 
I  might  be  exposed  in  the  course  of  our  journey — or,  rather,  I 
knew  that  they  were  many  and  inevitable  ;  and  after  remain- 
ing here  only  about  an  hour,  I  hurried  off,  loaded  with  as 
many  specimens  as  I  could  conveniently  carry. 

Coal  made  its  appearance  occasionally  in  the  hills  during 
the  afternoon,  and  was  displayed  in  rabbit  burrows  in  a  kind 
of  gap,  through  which  we  passed  over  some  high  hills,  and  we 
descended  to  make  our  encampment  on  the  same  stream,  where 
we  found  but  very  poor  grass.  In  the  evening  a  fine  cow, 
with  her  calf,  which  had  strayed  off  from  some  emigrant  party, 
was  found  several  miles  from  the  road,  and  brought  into 
camp ;  and  as  she  gave  an  abundance  of  milk,  we  enjoyed  to- 
night an  excellent  cup  of  coffee.  We  traveled  to-day  28 
miles,  and,  as  has  been  usual  since  crossing  the  Green  river, 
the  road  has  been  very  dusty,  and  the  weather  smoky  and 
oppressively  hot.  Artemisia  was  characteristic  among  the 
few  plants. 

20th. — We  continued  to  travel  up  the  creek  by  a  very 
gradual  ascent  and  a  very  excellent  grassy  road,  passing  on 
the  way  several  small  forks  of  the  stream.  The  hills  here  are 
higher,  presenting  escarpments  of  party-colored  and  apparently 
clay  rocks,  purple,  dark-red,  and  yellow,  containing  strata  of 
sandstone  and  limestone  with  shells,  with  a  bed  of  cemented 
pebbles,  the  whole  overlaid  by  beds  of  limestone.  The  alter- 
nation of  red  and  yellow  gives  a  bright  appearance  to  the  hills, 
one  of  which  was  called  by  our  people  the  Rainbow  hill,  and 
the  character  of  the  country  became  more  agreeable,  and 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  167 

traveling  far  more  pleasant,  as  now  we  found  timber  and 
very  good  grass.  Gradually  ascending,  we  reached  the  lower 
level  of  a  bed  of  white  limestone,  lying  upon  a  white  clay,  on 
the  upper  line  of  which  the  whole  road  is  abundantly  supplied 
with  beautiful  cool  springs,  gushing  out  a  foot  in  breadth  and 
several  inches  deep,  directly  from  the  hill-side. 

At  noon  we  halted  at  the  last  main  fork  of  the  creek,  at  an 
elevation  of  7,200  feet,  and  in  latitude,  by  observation,  41°  3^ 
45" ;  and  in  the  afternoon  continued  on  the  same  excellent 
road,  up  the  left  or  northern  fork  of  the  stream,  towards  its 
head,  in  a  pass  which  the  barometer  placed  at  8,230  feet  above 
the  sea.  This  is  a  connecting  ridge  between  the  Utah  or  Bear 
River  mountains  and  the  Wind  River  chain  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, separating  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  California  on  the 
east,  and  those  on  the  west  belonging  more  directly  to  the  Pa- 
cific, from  a  vast  interior  basin  whose  rivers  are  collected  into 
numerous  lakes  having  no  outlet  to  the  ocean.  From  the  sum- 
mit of  this  pass,  the  highest  which  the  road  crosses  between 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Western  ocean,  our  view  was  over  a 
very  mountainous  region,  whose  rugged  appearance  was  great- 
ly increased  by  the  smoky  weather,  through  which  the  broken 
ridges  were  dark  and  dimly  seen.  The  ascent  to  the  summit 
of  the  gap  was  occasionally  steeper  than  the  national  road  in  the 
Alleghanies ;  and  the  descent,  by  way  of  a  spur  on  the  west- 
ern side,  is  rather  precipitous,  but  the  pass  may  still  be  called 
a  good  one.  Some  thickets  of  the  willow  in  the  hollows  below- 
deceived  us  into  the  expectation  of  finding  a  camp  at  our 
usual  hour  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain ;  but  we  found  them 
without  water,  and  continued  down  a  ravine,  and  encamped 
about  dark  at  a  place  where  the  springs  began  again  to  make 
their  appearance,  but  where  our  animals  fared  badly ;  the 
slock  of  the  emigrants  having  razed  the  grass  as  completely  as 
if  we  were  again  in  the  midst  of  the  buffalo. 

21st. — An  hour's  travel  this  morning  brought  us  into  the 
fertile  and  picturesque  valley  of  Bear  river,  the  principal  trib- 
utary to  the  Great  Salt  lake.  The  stream  is  here  two  hundred 
feet  wide,  fringed  with  willows  and  occasional  groups  of  haw. 
thorns.  We  were  now  entering  a  region  which,  for  us,  po«- 


16S  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Auo. 

sessed  a  strange  and  extraordinary  interest.  We  were  upon 
the  waters  of  the  famous  lake  which  forms  a  salient  point  among 
the  remarkable  geographical  features  of  the  country,  and  around 
which  the  vague  and  superstitious  accounts  of  the  trappers  had 
thrown  a  delightful  obscurity,  which  we  anticipated  pleasure 
in  dispelling,  but  which,  in  the  mean  time,  left  a  crowded  field 
for  the  exercise  of  our  imagination. 

'  In  our  occasional  conversations  with  the  few  old  hunters  who 
had  visited  the  region,  it  had  been  a  subject  of  frequent  specu- 
lation ;  and  the  wonders  which  they  related  were  not  the  less 
agreeable  because  they  were  highly  exaggerated  and  impos- 
sible. 

Hitherto  this  lake  had  been  seen  only  by  trappers  who  were 
wandering  through  the  country  in  search  of  new  beaver-streams, 
caring  very  little  for  geography ;  its  islands  had  never  been 
visited  ;  and  none  were  to  be  found  who  had  entirely  made  the 
circuit  of  its  shores ;  and  no  instrumental  observations  or  geo- 
graphical survey,  of  any  description,  had  ever  been  made  any- 
where in  the  neighboring  region.  It  was  generally  supposed 
that  it  had  no  visible  outlet ;  but  among  the  trappers,  including 
those  in  my  own  camp,  were  many  who  believed  that  some- 
where on  its  surface  was  a  terrible  whirlpool,  through  which 
its  waters  found  their  way  to  the  ocean  by  some  subterranean 
communication.  All  these  things  had  made  a  frequent  subject 
of  discussion  in  our  desultory  conversations  around  the  fires  at 
night ;  and  my  own  mind  had  become  tolerably  well  filled 
with  their  indefinite  pictures,  and  insensibly  colored  with  their 
romantic  descriptions,  which,  in  the  pleasure  of  excitement,  I 
was  well  disposed  to  believe,  and  half  expected  to  realize. 

Where  we  descended  into  this  beautiful  valley,  it  is  three  to 
four  miles  in  breadth,  perfectly  level,  and  bounded  by  moun- 
tainous ridges,  one  above  another,  rising  suddenly  from  the  plain. 

We  continued  our  road  down  the  river,  and  at  night  en- 
camped with  a  family  of  emigrants — two  men,  women,  and 
several  children — who  appeared  to  be  bringing  up  the  rear  of 
the  great  caravan.  I  was  struck  with  the  fine  appearance  of 
their  cattle,  some  six  or  eight  yoke  of  oxen,  which  really  looked 
as  well  as  if  they  had  been  all  the  summer  at  work  on  some 


1843.]  CAPT.    FREMOM-'S    NARRATIVE.  169 

good  farm.  It  was  strange  to  see  one  small  family  traveling 
along  through  such  a  country,  so  remote  from  civilization. 
Some  nine  years  since,  such  a  security  might  have  been  a 
fatal  one,  but  since  their  disastrous  defeats  in  the  country  a 
little  north,  the  Blackfeet  have  ceased  to  visit  these  waters. 
Indians,  however,  are  very  uncertain  in  their  localities ;  and 
the  friendly  feelings,  also,  of  those  now  inhabiting  it  may  be 
changed. 

According  to  barometrical  observation  at  noon,  the  elevation 
of  the  valley  was  6,400  feet  above  the  sea ;  and  our  encamp, 
ment  at  night  in  latitude  4*2°  03'  47",  and  longitude  111° 
10'  53X/,  by  observation — the  day's  journey  having  been  26 
miles.  This  encampment  was  therefore  within  the  territorial 
limit  of  the  United  States  ;  our  traveling,  from  the  time  we 
entered  the  valley  of  the  Green  river,  on  the  15th  of  August, 
having  been  south  of  the  42d  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  con- 
sequently on  Mexican  territory ;  and  this  is  the  route  all  the 
emigrants  now  travel  to  Oregon. 

The  temperature  at  sunset  was  65° ;  and  at  evening  there 
was  a  distant  thunder-storm,  with  a  light  breeze  from  the 
north. 

Antelope  and  elk  were  seen  during  the  day  on  the  opposite 
prairie ;  and  there  were  ducks  and  geese  in  the  river. 

The  next  morning,  in  about  three  miles  from  our  encamp- 
ment, we  reached  Smith's  fork,  a  stream  of  clear  water,  about 
50  feet  in  breadth.  It  is  timbered  with  cottonwood,  willow,  and 
aspen,  and  makes  a  beautiful  debouchement  through  a  pass  about 
600  yards  wide,  between  remarkable  mountain  hills,  rising  ab- 
ruptly on  either  side,  and  forming  gigantic  columns  to  the  gate 
by  which  it  enters  Bear  River  valley.  The  bottoms,  which 
below  Smith's  fork  had  been  two  miles  wide,  narrowed  as  we 
advanced  to  a  gap  500  yards  wide,  and  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  day  we  had  a  winding  route,  the  river  making  very 
sharp  and  sudden  bends,  the  mountains  steep  and  rocky,  and 
the  valley  occasionally  so  narrow  as  only  to  leave  space  for  a 
passage  through. 

We  made  our  halt  at  noon  in  a  fertile  bottom,  where  the 
common  blue  flax  was  growing  abundantly,  a  few  miles  below 
8 


170  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NASEATIVE.  [Aus. 

the  mouth  of  Thomas's  fork,  one  of  the  larger  tributaries  of  the 
river. 

Crossing,  in  the  afternoon,  the  point  of  a  narrow  spur,  we 
descended  into  a  beautiful  bottom,  formed  by  a  lateral  valley, 
which  presented  a  picture  of  home  beauty  that  went  directly 
to  our  hearts.  The  edge  of  the  wood,  for  several  miles  along 
the  river,  was  dotted  with  the  white  covers  of  emigrant  wagons, 
collected  in  groups  at  different  camps,  where  the  smoke  was 
rising  lazily  from  the  fires,  around  which  the  women  were  oc- 
cupied in  preparing  the  evening  meal,  and  the  children  playing 
in  the  grass ;  and  herds  of  cattle,  grazing  about  in  the  bottom, 
had  an  air  of  quiet  security,  and  civilized  comfort,  that  made  a 
rare  sight  for  the  traveler  in  such  a  remote  wilderness. 

In  common  with  all  the  emigration,  they  had  been  reposing 
for  several  days  in  this  delightful  valley,  in  order  to  recruit 
their  animals  on  its  luxuriant  pasturage  after  their  long  jour- 
ney,  and  prepare  them  for  the  hard  travel  along  the  compara- 
tively sterile  banks  of  the  Upper  Columbia.  At  the  lower  end 
of  this  extensive  bottom,  the  river  passes  through  an  open  canon, 
where  there  were  high  vertical  rocks  to  the  water's  edge,  and 
the  road  here  turns  up  a  broad  valley  to  the  right.  It  was  al- 
ready near  sunset ;  but,  hoping  to  reach  the  river  again  before 
night,  we  continued  our  march  along  the  valley,  finding  the 
road  tolerably  good,  until  we  arrived  at  a  point  where  it  crosses 
the  ridge  by  an  ascent  of  a  mile  in  length,  which  was  so  very 
steep  and  difficult  for  the  gun  and  carriage,  that  we  did  not 
reach  the  summit  until  dark. 

It  was  absolutely  necessary  to  descend  into  the  valley  for 
water  and  grass ;  and  we  were  obliged  to  grope  our  way  in 
the  darkness  down  a  very  steep,  bad  mountain,  reaching  the 
river  at  about  ten  o'clock.  It  was  late  before  our  animals 
were  gathered  into  the  camp,  several  of  those  which  were  very 
weak  being  necessarily  left  to  pass  the  night  on  the  ridge  ;  and 
we  sat  down  again  to  a  midnight  supper.  The  road,  in  the 
morning,  presented  an  animated  appearance.  We  found  that 
we  had  encamped  near  a  large  party  of  emigrants ;  and  a  few- 
miles  below,  another  party  was  already  in  motion.  Here  the 
valley  had  resumed  its  usual  breadth,  and  the  river  swept  off 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  171 

along  the  mountains  on  the  western  side,  the  road  continuing 
directly  on. 

In  about  an  hour's  travel  we  met  several  Shoshonee  Indians, 
who  informed  us  that  they  belonged  to  a  large  village  which 
had  just  come  into  the  valley  from  the  mountain  to  the  west- 
ward, where  they  had  been  hunting  antelope  and  gathering 
service-berries.  Glad  at  the  opportunity  of  seeing  one  of  their 
villages,  and  in  the  hope  of  purchasing  from  them  a  few  horses, 
I  turned  immediately  off  into  the  plain  towards  their  encamp, 
merit,  which  was  situated  on  a  small  stream  near  the  river. 

We  had  approached  within  something  more  than  a  mile  of 
the  village,  when  suddenly  a  single  horseman  emerged  from  it 
at  full  speed,  followed  by  another  and  another  in  rapid  succes- 
sion ;  and  then  party  after  party  poured  into  the  plain,  until, 
when  the  foremost  rider  reached  us,  all  the  whole  intervening 
plain  was  occupied  by  a  mass  of  horsemen,  which  came  charg- 
ing down  upon  us  with  guns  and  naked  swords,  lances,  and 
bows  and  arrows — Indians  entirely  naked,  and  warriors  fully 
dressed  for  war,  with  the  long  red  streamers  of  their  war-bon- 
nets reaching  nearly  to  the  ground,  all  mingled  together  in  the 
bravery  of  savage  warfare.  They  had  been  thrown  into  a 
sudden  tumult  by  the  appearance  of  our  flag,  which,  among 
these  people,  is  regarded  as  an  emblem  of  hostility — it  being 
usually  borne  by  the  Sioux  and  the  neighboring  mountain 
Indians,  when  they  come  here  to  war ;  and  we  had,  accordingly 
oeen  mistaken  for  a  body  of  their  enemies.  A  few  words  from 
the  chief  quieted  the  excitement ;  and  the  whole  band,  increas- 
ing every  moment  in  number,  escorted  us  to  their  encampment, 
where  the  chief  pointed  out  a  place  for  us  to  encamp,  near  his 
own  lodge,  and  we  made  known  our  purpose  in  visiting  the  vil- 
lage. In  a  very  short  time  we  purchased  eight  horses,  for 
which  we  gave  in  exchange  blankets,  red  and  blue  cloth,  beads, 
knives,  and  tobacco,  and  the  usual  other  articles  of  Indian 
traffic.  We  obtained  from  them  also  a  considerable  quantity 
of  berries,  of  different  kinds,  among  which  service-berries  were 
the  most  abundant ;  and  several  kinds  of  roots  and  seeds,  which 
we  could  eat  with  pleasure,  as  any  kind  of  vegetable  food  was 
gratifying  to  us.  I  ate  here,  for  the  first  time,  the  kooyah,  6r 


172  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Auo. 

tobacco-root,  (valenana  edulis,) — the  principal  edible  root  among 
tne  Indians  who  inhabit  the  upper  waters  of  the  streams  on  the 
western  side  of  the  mountains.  It  has  a  very  strong  and 
remarkably  peculiar  taste  and  odor,  which  I  can  compare  to 
no  other  vegetable  that  I  am  acquainted  with,  and  which  to 
some  persons  is  extremely  offensive.  It  was  characterized  by 
Mr.  Preuss  as  the  most  horrid  food  he  had  ever  put  in  his 
mouth  ;  and  when,  in  the  evening,  one  of  the  chiefs  sent  hi? 
wife  to  me  with  a  portion  which  she  had  prepared  as  a  delicacj 
to  regale  us,  the  odor  immediately  drove  him  out  of  the  lodge ; 
and  frequently  afterwards  he  used  to  beg  that  when  those  whc 
liked  it  had  taken  what  they  desired,  it  might  be  sent  away 
To  others,  however,  the  taste  is  rather  an  agreeable  one ;  ano 
I  was  afterwards  glad  when  it  formed  an  addition  to  our  scantj 
meals.  It  is  full  of  nutriment ;  and  in  its  unprepared  state  i> 
said  by  the  Indians  to  Tiave  very  strong  poisonous  qualities,  oi 
which  it  is  deprived  by  a  peculiar  process,  being  baked  in  the 
ground  for  about  two  days. 

The  morning  of  the  24th  was  disagreeably  cool,  with  ai 
easterly  wind,  and  very  smoky  weather.  We  made  a  latt 
start  from  the  village,  and,  regaining  the  road,  (on  which 
during  all  the  day,  were  scattered  the  emigrant  wagons,)  we 
continued  on  down  the  valley  of  the  river,  bordered  by  high 
and  mountainous  hills,  on  which  fires  are  seen  at  the  summit. 
The  soil  appears  generally  good,  although,  with  the  grasses, 
many  of  the  plants  are  dried  up,  probably  on  account  of  the 
great  heat  and  want  of  rain.  The  common  blue  flax  of  culti- 
vation, now  almost  entirely  in  seed — only  a  scattered  flower 
here  and  there  remaining — is  the  most  characteristic  plant  of 
the  Bear  River  valley.  When  we  encamped  at  night,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  it  Was  growing  as  in  a  sown  field.  We 
had  traveled  during  the  day  twenty-two  miles,  encamping  in 
latitude  (by  observation)  42°  36"  56",  chronometric  longitude 
111°  42/05//. 

In  our  neighborhood  the  mountains  appeared  extremely 
rugged,  giving  still  greater  value  to  this  beautiful  natural  pass. 

25th. — This  was  a  cloudless  but  smoky  autumn  morning, 
with  a  cold  wind  from  the  southeast,  and  a  temperature  of  45° 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  173 

at  sunrise.  In  a  few  miles  I  noticed,  where  a  little  stream 
crossed  the  road,  fragments  of  scoriated  basalt  scattered  about — 
the  first  volcanic  rock  we  had  seen,  and  which  now  became  a 
characteristic  rock  along  our  future  road.  In  about  six  miles' 
travel  from  our  encampment,  we  reached  one  of  the  points  in 
our  journey  to  which  we  had  always  looked  forward  with  great 
interest — the  famous  Beer  springs.  The  place  in  which  they 
are  situated  is  a  basin  of  mineral  waters  enclosed  by  the  moun- 
tains, which  sweep  around  a  circular  bend  of  Bear  river,  here 
at  its  most  northern  point,  and  which,  from  a  northern,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  miles  acquires  a  southern  direction  towards  the 
GREAT  SALT  LAKE.  A  pretty  little  stream  of  clear  water  en- 
ters the  upper  part  of  the  basin,  from  an  open  valley  in  the 
mountains,  and,  passing  through  the  bottom,  discharges  into 
Bear  river.  Crossing  this  stream,  we  descended  a  mile  below, 
and  made  our  encampment  in  a  grove  of  cedar  immediately  at 
the  Beer  springs,  which,  on  account  of  the  effervescing  gas  and 
acid  taste,  have  received  their  name  from  the  voyageurs  and 
trappers  of  the  country,  who,  in  the  midst  of  their  rude  and 
hard  lives,  are  fond  of  finding  some  fancied  resemblance  to  the 
luxuries  they  rarely  have  the  fortune  to  enjoy. 

Although  somewhat  disappointed  in  the  expectations  which 
various  descriptions  had  led  me  to  form  of  unusual  beauty  of 
situation  and  scenery,  I  found  it  altogether  a  place  of  very 
great  interest ;  and  a  traveler  for  the  first  time  in  a  volcanic 
region  remains  in  a  constant  excitement,  and  at  every  step  is 
arrested  by  something  remarkable  and  new.  There  is  a  con- 
fusion of  interesting  objects  gathered  together  in  a  small  space. 
Around  the  place  of  encampment  the  Beer  springs  were  numer- 
ous ;  but,  as  far  as  we  could  ascertain,  were  confined  en- 
tirely to  that  locality  in  the  bottom.  In  the  bed  of  the  river, 
in  front,  for  a  space  of  several  hundred  yards,  they  were  very 
abundant ;  the  effervescing  gas  rising  up  and  agitating  the 
water  in  countless  bubbling  columns.  In  the  vicinity  round 
about  were  numerous  springs  of  an  entirely  different  and 
equally  marked  mineral  character.  In  a  rather  picturesque 
spot,  about  1,300  yards  below  our  encampment,  and  imme- 
diately on  the  river  bank,  is  the  most  remarkable  spring  of  the 


174  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Auc. 

place.  In  an  opening  on  the  rock,  a  white  column  of  scat- 
tered  water  is  thrown  up,  in  form  like  ajet-d'eau,  to  a  variable 
height  of  about  three  feet,  and,  though  it  is  maintained  in  a 
constant  supply,  its  greatest  height  is  only  attained  at  regular 
intervals,  according  to  the  action  of  the  force  below.  It  is  ac- 
companied by  a  subterranean  noise,  which,  together  with  the 
motion  of  the  water,  makes  very  much  the  impression  of  a 
steamboat  in  motion ;  and,  without  knowing  that  it  had  been 
already  previously  so  called,  we  gave  to  it  the  name  of  the 
Steamboat  spring.  The  rock  through  which  if  is  forced  is 
slightly  raised  in  a  convex  manner,  and  gathered  at  the  open- 
ing into  an  urn-mouthed  form,  and  is  evidently  formed  by  con- 
tinued deposition  from  the  water,  and  colored  bright  red  by 
oxide  of  iron.  An  analysis  of  this  deposited  rock,  which  I 
subjoin,  will  give  you  some  idea  of  the  properties  of  the  water, 
which,  with  the  exception  of  the  Beer  springs,  is  the  mineral 
water  of  the  place.*  It  is  a  hot  spring,  and  the  water  has  a 
pungent  and  disagreeable  metallic  taste,  leaving  a  burning 
effect  on  the  tongue.  Within  perhaps  two  yards  of  the  jet' 
d'eau  is  a  small  hole  of  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  through 
which,  at  regular  intervals,  escapes  a  blast  of  hot  air,  with  a 
light  wreath  of  smoke,  accompanied  by  a  regular  noise.  This 
hole  had  been  noticed  by  Dr.  Wislizenus,  a  gentleman  who 
had  several  years  since  passed  by  this  place,  and  who  re- 
marked, with  very  nice  observation,  that  smelling  the  gas 
which  issued  from  the  orifice  produced  a  sensation  of  giddiness 
and  nausea.  Mr.  Preuss  and  myself  repeated  the  observation, 
and  were  so  well  satisfied  with  its  correctness,  that  we  did  not 
find  it  pleasant  to  continue  the  experiment,  as  the  sensation  of 
giddiness  which  it  produced  was  certainly  strong  and  decided. 
A  huge  emigrant  wagon,  with  a  large  and  diversified  family 

*    ANALYSIS. 

Carbonate  of  lime        ••   '     --        •      "i***^.        .       92-55 
Carbonate  of  magnesia          .....         0-42 

Oxide  of  iron       .......         1-Q5 

Silica  \ 

Alumina  ......        5-93 

Water  and  loss  )  

100-00 


1843. j  CJLPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  175 

had  overtaken  us  and  halted  to  noon  at  our  encampment ;  and, 
while  we  were  sitting  at  the  spring,  a  band  of  boys  and  girls, 
with  two  or  three  young  men,  came  up,  one  of  whom  I  asked 
to  stoop  down  and  smell  the  gas,  desirous  to  satisfy  myself 
further  of  its  effects.  But  his  natural  caution  had  been 
awakened  by  the  singular  and  suspicious  features  of  the  place, 
and  he  declined  my  proposal  decidedly,  and  with  a  few  indis- 
tinct remarks  about  the  devil,  whom  he  seemed  to  consider 
the  genius  loci.  The  ceaseless  motion  and  the  play  of  the 
fountain,  the  red  rock  and  the  green  trees  near,  make  this  a 
picturesque  spot. 

A  short  distance  above  the  spring,  and  near  the  foot  of  the 
same  spur,  is  a  very  remarkable,  yellow-colored  rock,  soft  and 
friable,  consisting  principally  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  oxide 
of  iron,  of  regular  structure,  which  is  probably  a  fossil  coral. 
The  rocky  bank  along  the  shore  between  the  Steamboat  spring 
and  our  encampment,  along  which  is  dispersed  the  water  from 
the  hills,  is  composed  entirely  of  strata  of  a  calcareous  tufa, 
with  the  remains  of  moss  and  reed-like  grasses,  which  is 
probably  the  formation  of  springs.  The  Beer  or  Soda  springs, 
which  have  given  name  to  this  locality,  are  agreeable,  but  less 
highly  flavored  than  the  Boiling  springs  at  the  foot  of  Pike's 
peak,  which  are  of  the  same  character.  They  are  very 
numerous,  and  half  hidden  by  tufts  of  grass,  which  we  amused 
ourselves  in  removing  and  searching  about  for  more  highly 
impregnated  springs.  They  are  some  of  them  deep,  and  of 
various  sizes — sometimes  several  yards  in  diameter,  and  kept 
in  constant  motion  by  columns  of  escaping  gas.  By  analysis, 
one  quart  of  the  water  contains  as  follows  : 

Grains. 

Sulphate  of  magnesia     •••; '.»'-    :*'  *  rf    ^  •'•  '<*•*•     -       12-10 
Sulphate  of  lime         -         -         -         4    ; .  ,*- ,'  ••*'«.*  ,:     $-12 
Carbonate  of  lime       -         -         -         •         V     "         "         3  86 
Carbonate  of  magnesia        ......        3 '22 

Chloride  of  calcium     -         -         -         -         -         -    .     •         1'33 

Chloride  of  magnesium        -         •         •         •         •      '  *         1'12 

Chloride  of  sodium      -         -         -         -         -         -         -        2-24 

Vegetable  extractive  matter,  &c.  ,  * r  »  j  m  •  0-85 

26-84 


176  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Airs. 

The  carbonic  acid,  originally  contained  in  the  water,  had 
mainly  escaped  before  it  was  subjected  to  analysis ;  and  it  was 
not,  therefore,  taken  into  consideration. 

In  the  afternoon  I  wandered  about  among  the  cedars,  which 
occupy  the  greater  part  of  the  bottom  towards  the  mountains. 
The  soil  here  has  a  dry  and  calcined  appearance ;  in  some 
places,  the  open  grounds  are  covered  with  saline  efflorescences, 
and  there  are  a  number  of  regularly-shaped  and  very  remark- 
able hills,  which  are  formed  of  a  succession  of  convex  strata 
that  have  been  deposited  by  the  waters  of  extinct  springs,  the 
orifices  of  which  are  found  on  their  summits,  some  of  them 
naving  the  form  of  funnel-shaped  cones.  Others  of  these  re- 
markably-shaped hills  are  of  a  red-colored  earth,  entirely 
bare,  and  composed  principally  of  carbonate  of  lime,  with 
oxide  of  iron,  formed  in  the  same  manner.  Walking  near  one 
of  them,  on  the  summit  of  which  the  springs  were  dry,  my 
attention  was  attracted  by  an  underground  noise,  around  which 
I  circled  repeatedly,  until  I  found  the  spot  from  beneath  which 
it  came;  and,  removing  the  red  earth,  discovered  a  hidden 
spring,  which  was  boiling  up  from  below,  with  the  same  disa- 
greeable metallic  taste  as  the  Steamboat  spring.  Continuing 
up  the  bottom,  and  crossing  the  little  stream  which  has  been 
already  mentioned,  I  visited  several  remarkable  red  and  white 
hills,  which  had  attracted  my  attention  from  the  road  in  the 
morning.  These  are  immediately  upon  the  stream,  and,  like 
those  already  mentioned,  are  formed  by  the  deposition  of  suc- 
cessive strata  from  the  springs.  On  their  summits,  the  orifices 
through  which  the  waters  had  been  discharged  were  so  large, 
that  they  resembled  miniature  craters,  being  some  of  them 
several  feet  in  diameter,  circular,  and  regularly  formed  as  if 
by  art.  At  a  former  time,  when  these  dried-up  fountains  were 
all  in  motion,  they  must  have  made  a  beautiful  display  on  a 
grand  scale ;  and  nearly  all  this  basin  appears  to  me  to  have 
been  formed  under  their  action,  and  should  be  called  the 
place  of  fountains.  At  the  foot  of  one  of  these  hills,  or  rather 
on  its  side  near  the  base,  are  several  of  these  small  limestone 
columns,  about  one  foot  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  tapering 
upwards  to  a  height  of  three  or  four  feet ;  and  on  the  summit 


1843.]       CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.         171 

• 

the  water  is  boiling  up  and  bubbling  over,  constantly  adding 
to  the  height  of  the  little  obelisks.  In  some,  the  water  only 
boils  up,  no  longer  overflowing,  and  has  here  the  same  taste  as 
at  the  Steamboat  spring.  The  observer  will  remark  a  gradual 
subsidence  in  the  water,  which  formerly  supplied  the  foun- 
tains; as  on  all  the  summits  of  the  hills  the  springs  are  now 
dry,  and  are  found  only  low  down  upon  their  sides,  or  on  the 
surrounding  plain. 

A  little  higher  up  the  creek  its  banks  are  formed  by  strata 
of  very  heavy  and  hard  scoriaceous  basalt,  having  a  bright 
metallic  lustre  when  broken.  The  mountains  overlooking  the. 
plain  are  of  an  entirely  different  geological  character.  Con- 
tinuing on,  I  walked  to  the  summit  of  one  of  them,  where  the 
principal  rock  was  a  granular  quartz.  Descending  the  moun- 
tains, and  returning  towards  the  camp  along  the  base  of  the 
ridge  which  skirts  the  plain,  I  found,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain 
spur,  and  issuing  from  a  compact  rock  of  a  dark  blue  color,  a 
great  number  of  springs  having  the  same  pungent  and  disa- 
greeably metallic  taste  already  mentioned,  the  water  of  which 
was  collected  into  a  very  remarkable  basin,  whose  singularity, 
perhaps,  made  it  appear  to  me  very  beautiful.  It  is  large — 
perhaps  fifty  yards  in  circumference  ;  and  in  it  the  water  is 
contained,  at  an  elevation  of  several  feet  above  the  surrounding 
ground,  by  a  wall  of  calcareous  tufa,  composed  principally  of 
the  remains  of  mosses,  three  or  four,  and  sometimes  ten  feet 
high.  The  water  within  is  very  clear  and  pure,  and  three  or 
four  feet  deep,  where  it  could  be  measured,  near  the  wall ;  and 
at  a  considerably  low  level,  is  another  pond  or  basin  of  very 
clear  water,  and  apparently  of  considerable  depth,  from  the 
bottom  of  which  the  gas  was  escaping  in  bubbling  columns  at 
many  places.  This  water  was  collected  into  a  small  stream, 
which,  in  a  few  hundred  yards,  sank  under  ground,  reappear- 
ing among  the  rocks  between  the  two  great  springs  near  the 
river,  which  it  entered  by  a  little  fall. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  I  set  out  on  my  return  to  the  camp, 

and,  crossing  in  the  way  a  large  field  of  salt  that  was  several 

inches  deep,  found  on  my  arrival  that  our  emigrant  friends, 

who  had  been  encamped  in  company  with  us,  had  resumed 

8* 


178  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Au&. 

• 

their  journey,  and  the  road  had  again  assumed  its  solitary 
character.  The  temperature  of  the  largest  of  the  Beer  springs 
at  our  encampment  was  65°  at  sunset,  that  of  the  air  being 
62-5°.  Our  barometric  observation  gave  5,840  feet  for  the 
elevation  above  the  gulf,  being  about  500  feet  lower  than  the 
Boiling  springs,  which  are  of  a  similar  nature,  at  the  foot  of 
Pike's  peak.  The  astronomical  obseryations  gave  for  our  lati- 
tude 42°  39'  57",  and  111°  46'  00"  for  the  longitude.  The 
night  was  very  still  and  cloudless,  and  I  sat  up  for  an  observa- 
tion of  the  first  satellite  of  Jupiter,  the  emersion  of  which  took 
place  about  midnight ;  but  fell  asleep  at  the  telescope,  awaking 
just  a  few  minutes  after  the  appearance  of  the  star. 

The  morning  of  the  26th  was  calm,  and  the  sky  without 
clouds,  but  smoky,  and  the  temperature  at  sunrise  28'5°.  At 
the  same  time,  the  temperature  of  the  large  Beer  spring,  where 
we  were  encamped,  was  56° ;  that  of  the  Steamboat  spring 
87°,  and  that  of  the  steam-hole,  near  it,  81-5°.  In  the  course 
of  the  morning,  the  last  wagons  of  the  emigration  passed  by, 
and  we  were  again  left  in  our  place,  in  the  rear. 

Remaining  in  camp  until  nearly  11  o'clock,  we  traveled  a 
short  distance  down  the  river,  and  halted  to  noon  on  the  bank, 
at  a  point  where  the  road  quits  the  valley  of  Bear  river,  and, 
crossing  a  ridge  which  divides  the  Great  basin  from  the  Pacific 
waters,  reaches  Fort  Hall,  by  way  of  the  Portneuf  river,  in  a 
distance  of  probably  fifty  miles,  or  two  and  a  half  days'  jour- 
ney for  wagons.  An  examination  of  the  great  lake  which  is 
the  outlet  of  this  river,  and  the  principal  feature  of  geographi- 
cal interest  in  the  basin,  was  one  of  the  main  objects  con- 
templated in  the  general  plan  of  our  survey,  and  I  accordingly 
determined  at  this  place  to  leave  the  road,  and,  after  having 
completed  a  reconnoissance  of  the  lake,  regain  it  subsequently 
at  Fort  Hall.  But  our  little  stock  of  provisions  had  again  be- 
come extremely  low ;  we  had  only  dried  meat  sufficient  for 
one  meal,  and  our  supply  of  flour  and  other  comforts  was  en- 
tirely exhausted.  I  therefore  immediately  dispatched  one  of 
the  party,  Henry  Lee,  with  a  note  to  Carson,  at  Fort  Hall,  di- 
recting him  to  load  a  pack-horse  with  whatever  could  be  ob- 
tained there  in  the  way  of  provisions,  and  endeavor  to  overtak* 


CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  179 

rne  on  the  river.  In  the  mean  time,  we  had  picked  up  along 
the  road  two  tolerably  well-grown  calves,  which  would  have 
become  food  for  wolves,  and  which  had  probably  been  left  by 
some  of  the  earlier  emigrants,  none  of  those  we  had  met  hav- 
ing made  any  claim  to  them ;  and  on  these  I  mainly  relied  for 
support  during  our  circuit  to  the  lake. 

In  sweeping  around  the  point  of  the  mountain  which  runs 
down  into  the  bend,  the  river  here  passes  between  perpendicu- 
lar walls  of  basalt,  which  always  fix  the  attention,  from  the 
regular  form  in  which  it  occurs,  and  its  perfect  distinctness 
from  the  surrounding  rocks  among  which  it  had  been  placed. 
The  mountain,  which  is  rugged  and  steep,  and,  by  our  meas- 
urement, 1,400  feet  above  the  river  directly  opposite  the  place 
of  our  halt,  is  called  the  Sheep-rock — probably  because  a  flock 
of  the  mountain  sheep  (ovis  montana)  had  been  seen  on  the 
craggy  point. 

As  we  were  about  resuming  our  march  in  the  afternoon,  I 
was  attracted  by  the  singular  appearance  of  an  isolated  hill 
with  a  concave  summit,  in  the  plain,  about  two  miles  from  the 
river,  and  turned  off  towards  it,  while  the  camp  proceeded  on 
its  way  southward  in  search  of  the  lake.  I  found  the  thin  and 
stony  soil  of  the  plain  entirely  underlaid  by  the  basalt  which 
forms  the  river  walls  ;  and  when  I  reached  the  neighborhood 
of  the  hill,  the  surface  of  the  plain  was  rent  into  frequent  fis- 
sures and  chasms  of  the  same  scoriated  volcanic  rock,  from  40 
to  60  feet  deep,  but  which  there  was  not  sufficient  light  to  pen- 
etrate entirely,  and  which  I  had  not  time  to  descend.  Arrived 
at  the  summit  of  the  hill,  I  found  that  it  terminated  in  a  very 
perfect  crater,  of  an  oval,  or  nearly  circular  form,  360  paces 
in  circumference,  and  60  feet  at  the  greatest  depth.  The 
walls,  which  were  perfectly  vertical,  and  disposed  like  mason- 
ry in  a  very  regular  manner,  were  composed  of  a  brown-color- 
ed scoriaceous  lava,  similar  to  the  light  scoriaceous  lava  of  Mt. 
Etna,  Vesuvius,  and  other  volcanoes.  The  faces  of  the  walls 
were  reddened  and  glazed  by  the  fire,  in  which  they  had  been 
melted,  and  which  had  left  them  contorted  and  twisted  by  its 
violent  action. 

Our  route  during  the  afternoon  was  a  little  rough,  being  (in 


180  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Auo. 

the  direction  we  had  taken)  over  a  volcanic  plain,  where  our 
progress  was  sometimes  obstructed  by  fissures,  and  black  beds, 
composed  of  fragments  of  the  rock.  On  both  sides,  the  moun- 
tains appeared  very  broken,  but  tolerably  well  timbered. 

Crossing  a  point  of  ridge  which  makes  in  to  the  river, 
we  fell  upon  it  again  before  sunset,  and  encamped  on  the  right 
"bank,  opposite  to  the  encampment  of  three  lodges  of  Snake  In- 
dians. They  visited  us  during  the  evening,  and  we  obtained 
from  them  a  small  quantity  of  roots  of  different  kinds,  in  ex. 
change  for  goods.  Among  them  was  a  sweet  root  of  very 
pleasant  flavor,  having  somewhat  the  taste  of  preserved  quince. 
My  endeavors  to  become  acquainted  with  the  plants  which  fur. 
nish  to  the  Indians  a  portion  of  their  support,  were  only  grad- 
ually successful,  and  after  long  and  persevering  attention ; 
and  even  after  obtaining,  I  did  not  succeed  in  preserving  then* 
until  they  could  be  satisfactorily  determined.  In  this  portion 
of  the  journey,  I  found  this  particular  root  cut  up  into  small 
pieces,  that  it  was  only  to  be  identified  by  its  taste,  when  the 
bulb  was  met  with  in  perfect  form  among  the  Indians  IOWCT 
down  on  the  Columbia,  among  whom  it  is  the  highly  celebrated 
kamas.  It  was  long  afterwards,  on  our  return  through  Upper 
California,  that  J  found  the  plant  itself  in  bloom,  which  I  sup- 
posed to  furnish  the  kamas  root,  (ca?nassia  esculenta.)  The 
root  diet  had  a  rather  mournful  effect  at  the  commencement, 
and  one  of  the  calves  was  killed  this  evening  for  food.  The 
animals  fared  well  on  rushes. 

27th. — The  morning  was  cloudy,  with  appearance  of  rain, 
and  the  thermometer  at  sunrise  at  29°.  Making  an  unusually 
early  start,  we  crossed  the  river  at  a  good  ford  ;  and,  follow- 
ing for  about  three  hours  a  trail  which  led  along  the  bottom, 
we  entered  a  labyrinth  of  hills  below  the  main  ridge,  and  halt- 
ed to  noon  in  the  ravine  of  a  pretty  little  stream,  timbered 
with  cottonwood  of  a  large  size,  ash-leaved  maple,  with  cherry 
and  other  shrubby  trees.  The  hazy  weather,  which  had  pre- 
vented any  very  extended  views  since  entering  the  Green 
River  valley,  began  now  to  disappear.  There  was  a  slight 
rain  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  day,  and  at  noon,  when  the 
thermometer  had  risen  to  79-5°,  we  had  a  bright  sun,  with  blue 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  181 

sky  and  scattered  cumuli.  According  to  the  barometer,  oui 
halt  here  among  the  hills  was  at  an  elevation  of  5,320  feet. 
Crossing  a  dividing  ridge  in  the  afternoon,  we  followed  down 
another  little  Bear  River  tributary,  to  the  point  where  it  emerged 
on  an  open  green  flat  among  the  hills,  timbered  with  groves, 
and  bordered  with  cane  thickets,  but  without  water.  A  pretty 
little  rivulet  coming  out  of  the  hillside,  and  overhung  by  tall 
flowering  plants  of  a  species  I  had  not  hitherto  seen,  furnish- 
ed us  with  a  good  camping-place.  The  evening  was  cloudy, 
the  temperature  at  sunset  69°,  and  the  elevation  5,140  feet. 
Among  the  plants  occurring  along  the  road  during  the  day, 
epinettes  des  prairies  (grindelia  squarraso)  was  in  considerable 
abundance,  and  is  among  the  very  few  plants  remaining  in 
bloom — the  whole  country  having  now  an  autumnal  appear- 
ance, in  the  crisp  and  yellow  plants,  and  dried-up  grasses. 
Many  cranes  were  seen  during  the  day,  with  a  few  antelope, 
very  shy  and  wild. 

28th. — During  the  night  we  had  a  thunder-storm,  with 
moderate  rain,  which  has  made  the  air  this  morning  very  clear, 
the  thermometer  being  at  55°.  Leaving  our  encampment  at 
the  Cane  spring,  and  quitting  the  trail  on  which  we  had  been 
traveling,  and  which  would  probably  have  afforded  us  a  good 
road  to  the  lake,  we  crossed  some  very  deep  ravines,  and,  in 
about  an  hour's  traveling,  again  reached  the  river.  We  were 
now  in  a  valley  five  or  six  miles  wide,  between  mountain 
ranges,  which,  about  thirty  miles  below,  appeared  to  close  up  and 
terminate  the  valley,  leaving  for  the  river  only  a  very  narrow 
pass,  or  canon,  behind  which  we  imagined  we  would  find  the 
broad  waters  of  the  lake.  We  made  the  usual  halt  at  the 
mouth  of  a  small  clear  stream,  having  a  slightly  mineral  taste, 
(perhaps  of  salt,)  4,760  feet  above  the  gulf.  In  the  afternoon 
we  climbed  a  very  steep  sandy  hill ;  and  after  a  slow  and 
winding  day's  march  of  27  miles,  encamped  at  a  slough  on  the 
river.  There  were  great  quantities  of  geese  and  ducks,  of 
which  only  a  few  were  shot;  the  Indians  having  probably 
made  them  very  wild.  The  men  employed  themselves  in  fish- 
ing, but  caught  nothing.  A  skunk,  (mephitis  Americana,) 
which  was  killed  in  the  afternoon,  made  a  supper  for  one  of 


182  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Auo. 

the  messes.  The  river  is  bordered  occasionally  with  fields  o*" 
cane,  which  we  regarded  as  an  indication  of  our  approach  to 
a  lake-country.  We  had  frequent  showers  of  rain  during  the 
night,  with  thunder. 

29th. — The  thermometer  at  sunrise  was  54°,  with  air  from 
the  NW.,  and  dark  rainy  clouds  moving  on  the  horizon ;  rain 
squalls  and  bright  sunshine  by  intervals.  I  rode  ahead  with 
Basil  to  explore  the  country,  and,  continuing  about  three  miles 
along  the  river,  turned  directly  off  on  a  trail  running  towards 
three  marked  gaps  in  the  bordering  range,  where  the  moun- 
tains appeared  cut  through  their  bases,  towards  which  the  river 
plain  rose  gradually.  Putting  our  horses  into  a  gallop  on 
some  fresh  tracks  which  showed  very  plainly  in  the  wet 
path,  we  came  suddenly  upon  a  small  party  of  Shoshonee  In- 
dians,  who  had  fallen  into  the  trail  from  the  north.  We  could 
only  communicate  by  signs ;  but  they  made  us  understand 
that  the  road  through  the  chain  was  a  very  excellent  one, 
leading  into  a  broad  valley  which  ran  to  the  southward.  We 
halted  to  noon  at  what  may  be  called  the  gate  of  the  pass ;  on 
either  side  of  which  were  huge  mountains  of  rock,  between 
which  stole  a  little  pure  water  stream,  with  a  margin  just  suf- 
ficiently large  for  our  passage.  From  the  river,  the  plain  had 
gradually  risen  to  an  altitude  of  5,500  feet,  and,  by  meridian 
observation,  the  latitude  of  the  entrance  was  42°. 

In  the  interval  of  our  usual  halt,  several  of  us  wandered 
along  up  the  stream  to  examine  the  pass  more  at  leisure. 
Within  the  gate,  the  rocks  receded  a  little  back,  leaving  a  very 
narrow,  but  most  beautiful  valley,  through  which  the  little 
stream  wound  its  way,  hidden  by  the  different  kinds  of  trees 
and  shrubs — aspen,  maple,  willow,  cherry,  and  elder ;  a  fine 
verdure  of  smooth  short  grass  spread  over  the  remaining  space 
to  the  bare  sides  of  the  rocky  walls.  These  were  of  a  blue 
limestone,  which  constitutes  the  mountain  here ;  and  opening 
directly  on  the  grassy  bottom  were  several  curious  caves, 
which  appeared  to  be  inhabited  by  root-diggers.  On  one  side 
was  gathered  a  heap  of  leaves  for  a  bed,  and  they  were  dry, 
open,  and  pleasant.  On  the  roofs  of  the  caves  I  remarked 
bituminous  exudations  from  the  rock. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  183 

The  trail  was  an  excellent  one  for  pack-horses;  but  as  it 
sometimes  crossed  a  shelving  point,  to  avoid  the  shrubbery  we 
were  obliged  in  several  places  to  open  a  road  for  the  carriage 
through  the  wood.  A  squaw  on  horseback,  accompanied  by 
five  or  six  dogs,  entered  the  pass  in  the  afternoon;  but  was 
too  much  terrified  at  finding  herself  in  such  unexpected  com- 
pany to  make  any  pause  for  conversation,  and  hurried  off  at  a 
good  pace — being,  of  course,  no  further  disturbed  than  by  an 
accelerating  shout.  She  was  well  and  showily  dressed,  and 
was  probably  going  to  a  village  encamped  somewhere  near, 
and  evidently  did  not  belong  to  the  tribe  of  root-diggers.  We 
now  had  entered  a  country  inhabited  by  these  people ;  and  as 
in  the  course  of  the  voyage  we  shall  frequently  meet  with  them 
in  various  stages  of  existence,  it  will  be  well  to  inform  you 
that,  scattered  over  the  great  region  west  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  south  of  the  Great  Snake  river,  are  numerous  In- 
dians whose  subsistence  is  almost  solely  derived  from  roots  and 
seeds,  and  such  small  animals  as  chance  and  great  good  for- 
tune sometimes  bring  within  their  reach.  They  are  miserably 
poor,  armed  only  with  bows  and  arrows,  or  clubs ;  and,  as  the 
country  they  inhabit  is  almost  destitute  of  game,  they  have  no 
means  of  obtaining  better  arms.  In  the  northern  part  of  the 
region  just  mentioned,  they  live  generally  in  solitary  families; 
and  farther  to  the  south  they  are  gathered  together  in  villages. 
Those  who  live  together  in  villages,  strengthened  by  associa- 
tion, are  in  exclusive  possession  of  the  more  genial  and  richer 
parts  of  the  country ;  while  the  others  are  driven  to  the  ruder 
mountains,  and  to  the  more  inhospitable  parts  of  the  country. 
But  by  simply  observing,  in  accompanying  us  along  our  road, 
you  will  become  better  acquainted  with  these  people  than  we 
could  make  you  in  any  other  than  a  very  long  description,  and 
you  will  find  them  worthy  of  your  interest. 

Roots,  seeds,  and  grass,  every  vegetable  that  affords  any 
nourishment,  and  every  living  animal  thing,  insect  or  worm, 
they  eat.  Nearly  approaching  to  the  lower  animal  creation, 
their  sole  employment  is  to  obtain  food ;  and  they  are  con- 
stantly occupied  in  struggling  to  support  existence. 

The  most  remarkable   feature  of  the  pass  is  the  Standing 


184  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [AUG. 

rock,  wnich  has  fallen  from  the  cliffs  above,  and  standing  per- 
pendicularly near  the  middle  of  the  valley,  presents  itself 
like  a  watch-tower  in  the  pass.  It  will  give  you  a.  tolerably 
correct  idea  of  the  character  of  the  scenery  in  thiu  country, 
where  generally  the  mountains  rise  abruptly  up  from  com- 
paratively unbroken  plains  and  level  valleys ;  but  it  will  en- 
tirely fail  in  representing  the  picturesque  beauty  of  this  de- 
lightful place,  where  a  green  valley,  full  of  foliage  and  a  hun- 
dred yards  wide,  contrasts  with  naked  crags  .(hat  spire  up  into 
a  blue  line  of  pinnacles  3,000  feet  above,  sometimes  crested 
with  cedar  and  pine,  and  sometimes  ragged  and  bare. 

The  detention  that  we  met  with  in  opening  the  road,  and 
perhaps  a  willingness  to  linger  on  the  way,  made  the  after, 
noon's  travel  short ;  and  about  two  miles  from  the  entrance, 
we  passed  through  another  gate,  and  encamped  on  the  stream 
at  the  junction  of  a  little  fork  from  the  southward,  around 
which  the  mountains  stooped  more  gently  down,  forming  a 
small  open  cove. 

As  it  was  still  early  in  the  afternoon,  Basil  and  myself  in 
one  direction,  and  Mr.  Preuss  in  another,  set  out  to  explore 
the  country,  and  ascended  different  neighboring  peaks,  in 
the  hope  of  seeing  some  indications  of  the  lake ;  but  though 
our  elevation  afforded  magnificent  views,  the  eye  ranging  over 
a  large  extent  of  Bear  river,  with  the  broad  and  fertile  Cache 
valley  in  the  direction  of  our  search,  was  only  to  be  seen  a  bed 
of  apparently  impracticable  mountains.  Among  these,  the  trail 
we  had  been  following  turned  sharply  to  the  northward,  and  it 
began  to  be  doubtful  if  it  would  not  lead  us  away  from  the  ob- 
ject of  our  destination  ;  but  I  nevertheless  determined  to  keep 
it,  in  the  belief  that  it  would  eventually  bring  us  right.  A 
squall  of  rain  drove  us  out  of  the  mountain,  and  it  was  late 
when  we  reached  the  camp.  The  evening  closed  in  with  fre- 
quent showers  of  rain,  with  some  lightning  and  thunder. 

30th. — We  had  constant  thunder-storms  during  the  night, 
but  in  the  morning  the  clouds  were  sinking  to  the  horizon,  and 
the  air  was  clear  and  cold,  with  the  thermometer  at  sunrise  at 
39°.  Elevation  by  barometer  5,580  feet.  We  were  in  mo- 
tion early,  continuing  up  the  little  stream  without  encountering 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  185 

any  ascent  where  a  horse  would  not  easily  gallop ;  and,  cross- 
ing a  slight  dividing  ground  at  the  summit,  descended  upon 
a  small  stream,  along  which  continued  the  same  excellent 
road.  In  riding  through  the  pass,  numerous  cranes  were  seen  ; 
and  prairie  hens,  or  grouse,  (bonasia  umbellus,)  which  lately 
had  been  rare,  were  very  abundant. 

This  little  affluent  brought  us  to  a  larger  stream,  down 
which  we  traveled  through  a  more  open  bottom,  on  a  level 
road,  where  heavily-laden  wagons  could  pass  without  obstacle. 
The  hills  on  the  right  grew  lower,  and,  on  entering  a  more 
open  country,  we  discovered  a  Shoshonee  village  ;  and  being 
desirous  to  obtain  information,  and  purchase  from  them  some 
roots  and  berries,  we  halted  on  the  river,  which  was  lightly 
wooded  with  cherry,  willow,  maple,  service-berry,  and  aspen. 
A  meridian  observation  of  the  sun,  which  I  obtained  here,  gave 
42°  14'  22"  for  our  latitude,  and  the  barometer  indicated  a 
height  of  5,170  feet.  A  number  of  Indians  came  immediately 
over  to  visit  us,  and  several  men  were  sent  to  the  village  with 
goods,  tobacco,  knives,  cloth,  vermilion,  and  the  usual  trinkets, 
to  exchange  for  provisions.  But  they  had  no  game  of  any 
kind ;  and  it  was  difficult  to  obtain  any  roots  from  them,  as 
they  were  miserably  poor,  and  had  but  little  to  spare  from 
their  winter  stock  of  provisions.  Several  of  the  Indians  drew 
aside  their  blankets,  showing  me  their  lean  and  bony  figures ; 
and  I  would  not  any  longer  tempt  them  with  a  display  of  our 
merchandise  to  part  with  their  wretched  subsistence,  when  they 
gave  as  a  reason  that  it  would  expose  them  to  ..emporary  starv- 
ation. A  great  portion  of  the  region  inhabited  by  this  nation, 
formerly  abounded  in  game — the  buffalo  ranging  about  in 
herds,  as  we  had  found  them  on  the  eastern  waters,  and  the 
plains  dotted  with  scattered  bands  of  antelope ;  but  so  rapidly 
have  they  disappeared  within  a  few  years,  that  now,  as  we 
journeyed  along,  an  occasional  buffalo  skull  and  a  few  wild 
antelope  were  all  that  remained  of  the  abundance  which  had 
covered  the  country  with  animal  life. 

The  extraordinary  rapidity  with  which  the  buffalo  is  disap- 
pearing from  our  territories  will  not  appear  surprising  when 
we  remember  the  great  scale  on  which  tneir  destruction  is 


186  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Airs. 

yearly  carried  on.  With  inconsiderable  exceptions,  the  busi- 
ness of  the  A  merican  trading-posts  is  carried  on  in  their  skins; 
every  year  the  Indian  villages  make  new  lodges,  for  which  the 
skin  of  the  buffalo  furnishes  the  material ;  and  in  that  portion 
of  the  country  where  they  are  still  found,  the  Indians  derive 
their  entire  support  from  them,  and  slaughter  them  with  a 
thoughtless  and  abominable  extravagance.  Like  the  Indians 
themselves,  they  have  been  a  characteristic  of  the  Great  West ; 
and  as,  like  them,  they  are  visibly  diminishing,  it  will  be  in- 
teresting to  throw  a  glance  backward  through  the  last  twenty 
years,  and  give  some  account  of  their  former  distribution 
through  the  country,  and  the  limit  of  their  western  range. 

The  information  is  derived  principally  from  Mr.  Fitzpatrick, 
supported  by  my  own  personal  knowledge  and  acquaintance 
with  the  country.  Our  knowledge  does  not  go  farther  back 
than  the  spring  of  1824,  at  which  time  the  buffalo  were  spread 
in  immense  numbers  over  the  Green  River  and  Bear  River 
valleys,  and  through  all  the  country  lying  between  the  Colora- 
do, or  Green  river  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  Lewis's  fork 
of  the  Columbia  river ;  the  meridian  of  Fort  Hall  then  form- 
ing the  western  limit  of  their  range.  The  buffalo  then  re- 
mained for  many  years  in  that  country,  and  frequently  moved 
down  the  valley  of  the  Columbia,  on  both  sides  of  the  river  as 
far  as  the  Fishing  falls.  Below  this  point  they  never  descend- 
ed in  any  numbers.  About  the  year  1834  or  1835  they  began 
to  diminish  very  rapidly,  and  continued  to  decrease  until  1838 
or  1840,  when,  with  the  country  we  have  just  described,  they 
entirely  abandoned  all  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  north  of  Lew- 
is's fork  of  the  Columbia.  At  that  time,  the  Flathead  Indiana 
were  in  the  habit  of  finding  their  buffalo  on  the  heads  of  Salm- 
on river,  and  other  streams  of  the  Columbia  ;  but  now  they 
never  meet  with  them  farther  west  than  the  three  forks  of  the 
Missouri,  or  the  plains  of  the  Yellow-stone  river. 

In  the  course  of  our  journey  it  will  be  remarked  that  the 
buffalo  have  not  so  entirely  abandoned  the  waters  of  the  Pacif- 
ic, in  the  Rocky-Mountain  region  south  of  the  Sweet  Water,  as 
in  the  country  north  of  the  Great  Pass.  This  partial  distribu- 
tion can  only  be  accounted  for  in  the  great  pastoral  beauty  of 


1843.J  CAW.   FREMONT'S   NARRATlTO,  187 

that  country,  which  bears  marks  of  having  been  one  of  their 
favorite  haunts,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  white  hunters  have 
more  frequented  the  northern  than  the  southern  region — it  be- 
ing north  of  the  South  Pass  that  the  hunters,  trappers,  and  tra- 
ders, have  had  their  rendezvous  for  many  years  past ;  and 
from  that  section  also  the  greater  portion  of  the  beaver  and  rich 
furs  were  taken,  although  always  the  most  dangerous  as  well  as 
the  most  profitable  hunting-ground. 

In  that  region  lying  between  the  Green  or  Colorado  river 
and  the  head-waters  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  over  the  Yampah, 
Kooyah,  White,  and  Grand  rivers — all  of  which  are  the  waters 
of  the  Colorado — the  buffalo  never  extended  so  far  to  the  west- 
ward as  they  did  on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia ;  and  only  in 
one  or  two  instances  have  they  been  known  to  descend  as  far 
west  as  the  mouth  of  White  river.  In  traveling  through  the 
country  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  observation  readily  led 
me  to  the  impression  that  the  buffalo  had,  for  the  first  time, 
crossed  that  range  to  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  only  a  few  years 
prior  to  the  period  we  are  considering ;  and  in  this  opinion  I 
am  sustained  by  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  and  the  older  trappers  in  that 
country.  In  the  region  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  we  never 
meet  with  any  of  the  ancient  vestiges  which,  throughout  all  the 
country  lying  upon  their  eastern  waters,  are  found  in  the  great 
highways,  continuous  for  hundreds  of  miles,  always  several 
inches,  and  sometimes  several  feet  in  depth,  which  the  buffalo 
have  made  in  crossing  from  one  river  to  another,  or  in  traver- 
sing the  mountain  ranges.  The  Snake  Indians,  more  particu- 
larly those  low  down  upon  Lewis's  fork,  have  always  been 
very  grateful  to  the  American  trappers,  for  the  great  kindness 
(as  they  frequently  expressed  it)  which  they  did  to  them,  in 
driving  the  buffalo  so  low  down  the  Columbia  river. 

The  extraordinary  abundance  of  the  buffalo  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  their  extraordinary  diminution, 
will  be  made  clearly  evident  from  the  following  statement : 
At  any  time  between  the  years  1824  and  1836,  a  traveler 
might  start  from  any  given  point  south  or  north  in  the  Rocky 
Mountain  range,  journeying  by  the  most  direct  route  to  the 
Missouri  river ;  aftd,  during  the  whole  distance,  his  road  would 


188  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [AuG. 

always  be  among  large  bands  of  buffalo,  which  would  never 
be  out  of  his  view  until  he  arrived  almost  within  sight  of  the 
abodes  of  civilization. 

At  this  time,  the  buffalo  occupy  but  a  very  limited  space, 
principally  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains, 
sometimes  extending  at  their  southern  extremity  to  a  conside- 
rable distance  into  the  plains  between  the  Platte  and  Arkansas 
rivers,  and  along  the  eastern  frontier  of  New  Mexico  as  far 
south  as  Texas. 

The  following  statement,  which  I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  Mr 
Sanford,  a  partner  in  the  American  Fur  Company,  will  fur 
ther  illustrate  this  subject,  by  extensive  knowledge  acquired 
during  several  years  of  travel  through  the  region  inhabited  by 
the  buffalo : 

"  The  total  amount  of  robes  annually  traded  by  ourselves 
and  others  will  not  be  found  to  differ  much  from  the  following 
statement : 

Robes. 

American  Fur  Company  .....         70,000 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  •         f         -,      -        -         10,000 

All  other  companies,  probably  ....         10,000 

Making  a  total  of          -         -         -  90,000 

as  an  average  annual  return  for  the  last  eight  or  ten  years. 

"  In  the  northwest,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  purchase 
from  the  Indians  but  a  very  small  number — their  only  market 
being  Canada,  to  which  the  cost  of  transportation  nearly  equals 
the  produce  of  the  furs ;  and  it  is  only  within  a  very  recent 
period  that  they  have  received  buffalo  robes  in  trade ;  and  out 
of  the  great  number  of  buffalo  annually  killed  throughout  the 
extensive  region  inhabited  by  the  Camanches  and  other  kindred 
tribes,  no  robes  whatever  are  furnished  for  trade.  During 
only  four  months  of  the  year,  (from  November  until  March,) 
the  skins  are  good  for  dressing ;  those  obtained  in  the  remain- 
ing eight  months  are  valueless  to  traders ;  and  the  hides  of 
bulls  are  never  taken  off  or  dressed  as  robes  at  any  season. 
Probably  not  more  than  one-third  of  the  skins  are  taken  from 
the  animals  killed,  even  when  they  are  in  good  season,  the 
labor  of  preparing  and  dressing  the  robes  being  very  great ; 


Jt843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  189 

and  it  is  seldom  that  a  lodge  trades  more  than  twenty  skins 
in  a  year.  It  is  during  the  summer  months,  and  in  the  early 
part  of  autumn,  that  the  greatest  number  of  buffalo  are  killed, 
and  yet  at  this  time  a  skin  is  never  taken  for  the  purpose  of 
trade." 

From  these  data,  which  are  certainly  limited,  and  decidedly 
within  bounds,  the  reader  is  left  to  draw  his  own  inference  of 
the  immense  number  annually  killed. 

In  1842,  I  found  the  Sioux  Indians  of  the  Upper  Platte 
demonles,  as  their  French  traders  expressed  it,  with  the  failure 
of  the  buffalo ;  and  in  the  following  year,  large  villages  from 
the  Upper  Missouri  came  over  to  the  mountains  at  the  heads 
of  the  Platte,  in  search  of  them.  The  rapidly  progressive 
failure  of  their  principal,  and  almost  their  only  means  of  sub- 
sistence,  has  created  great  alarm  among  them ;  and  at  this 
time  there  are  only  two  modes  presented  to  them,  by  which 
they  see  a  good  prospect  for  escaping  starvation  :  one  of  these 
is  to  rob  the  settlements  along  the  frontier  of  the  States  ;  and 
the  other  is  to  form  a  league  between  the  various  tribes  of  the 
Sioux  nation,  the  Cheyennes,  and  Arapahoes,  and  make  war 
against  the  Crow  nation,  in  order  to  take  from  them  their 
country,  which  is  now  the  best  buffalo  country  in  the  west. 
This  plan  they  now  have  in  consideration  ;  and  it  would  proba- 
bly be  a  war  of  extermination,  as  the  Crows  have  long  been 
advised  of  this  state  of  affairs,  and  say  that  they  are  perfectly 
prepared.  These  are  the  best  warriors  in  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  are  now  allied  with  the  Snake  Indians ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  their  combination  would  extend  itself  to  the 
Utahs,  who  have  long  been  engaged  in  war  against  the  Sioux. 
It  is  in  this  section  of  country  that  my  observation  formerly  led 
me  to  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  military  post. 

The  farther  course  of  our  narrative  will  give  fuller  and  more 
detailed  information  of  the  present  disposition  of  the  buffalo  in 
the  country  we  visited. 

Among  the  roots  we  obtained  here,  I  could  distinguish  only 
five  or  six  different  kinds  ;  and  the  supply  of  the  Indians  whom 
we  met  consisted  principally  of  yampah,  (anethum  graveolens,) 
tobacco-root,  (valeriana,)  and  a  large  root  of  a  species  of 


190  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [AUG. 

thistle,  (circium  Virginianum,)  which  now  is  occasionally  abun- 
dant, and  is  a  very  agreeably  flavored  vegetable. 

We  had  been  detained  so  long  at  the  village,  that  in  the  af- 
ternoon we  made  only  five  miles,  and  encamped  on  the  same 
river  after  a  day's  journey  of  19  miles.  The  Indians  inform, 
ed  us  that  we  should  reach  the  big  salt  water  after  having 
slept  twice  and  traveling  in  a  south  direction.  The  stream 
had  here  entered  nearly  a  level  plain  or  valley,  of  good  soil, 
eight  or  ten  miles  broad,  to  which  no  termination  was  to  be 
seen,  and  lying  between  ranges  of  mountains  which,  on  the 
right,  were  grassy  and  smooth,  unbroken  by  rock,  and  lower 
than  on  the  left,  where  they  were  rocky  and  bald,  increasing 
in  height  to  the  southward.  On  the  creek  were  fringes  of 
young  willows,  older  trees  being  rarely  found  on  the  plains, 
where  the  Indians  burn  the  surface  to  produce  better  grass. 
Several  magpies  (pica  Hudsopica)  were  seen  on  the  creek  this 
afternoon ;  and  a  rattlesnake  was  killed  here,  the  first  which 
had  been  seen  since  leaving  the  eastern  plains.  Our  camp  to- 
night had  such  a  hungry  appearance  that  I  suffered  the  little 
cow  to  be  killed,  and  divided  the  roots  and  berries  among  the 
people.  A  number  of  Indians  from  the  village  encamped 
near. 

The  weather  the  next  morning  was  clear,  the  thermometer 
at  sunrise  at  44*5°  ;  and,  continuing  down  the  valley,  in  about 
five  miles  we  followed  the  little  creek  of  our  encampment  to 
its  junction  with  a  larger  stream,  called  Roseaux,  or  Reed  river. 
Immediately  opposite,  on  the  right,  the  range  was  gathered  into 
its  highest  peak,  sloping  gradually  low,  and  running  off  to  a 
point  apparently  some  forty  or  fifty  miles  below.  Between  this 
(now  become  the  valley  stream)  and  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
we  journeyed  along  a  handsome  sloping  level,  which  frequent 
springs  from  the  hills  made  occasionally  miry,  and  halted  to 
noon  at  a  swampy  spring,  where  there  were  good  grass  and 
abundant  rushes.  Here  the  river  was  forty  feet  wide,  with  a 
considerable  current,  and  the  valley  a  mile  and  a  half  in 
breadth  ;  the  soil  being  generally  good,  of  a  dark  color,  and 
apparently  well  adapted  to  cultivation.  The  day  had  become 
-bright  and  pleasant,  with  the  thermometer  at  71°.  By  obser- 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  131 

vation,  our  latitude  was  41°  59'  31",  and  the  elevation  above 
the  sea  4,670  feet.  On  our  left,  this  afternoon,  the  range  at 
tang  intervals  formed  itself  into  peaks,  appearing  to  terminate, 
about  forty  miles  below,  in  a  rocky  cape,  beyond  which  sev- 
eral others  were  faintly  visible ;  and  we  were  disappointed 
when,  at  every  little  rise,  we  did  not  see  the  lake.  Towards 
evening,  our  way  was  somewhat  obstructed  by  fields  of  arte- 
misia,  which  began  to  make  their  appearance  here,  and  we 
encamped  on  the  Roseaux,  the  water  of  which  had  acquired  a 
decidedly  salt  taste,  nearly  opposite  to  a  canon  gap  in  the 
mountains,  through  which  the  Bear  river  enters  this  valley. 
As  we  encamped,  the  night  set  in  dark  and  cold,  with  heavy 
rain,  and  the  artemisia,  which  was  our  only  wood,  was  so 
wet  that  it  would  not  burn.  A  poor,  nearly  starved  dog,  with 
a  wound  in  his  side  from  a  ball,  came  to  the  camp,  and  re- 
mained with  us  until  the  winter,  when  he  met  a  very  unex- 
pected fate. 


SEPTEMBER. 

1st. — The  morning  was  squally  and  cold;  the  sky  scatter- 
ed over  with  clouds  ;  and  the  night  had  been  so  uncomfortable, 
that  we  were  not  on  the  road  until  eight  o'clock.  Traveling 
between  Roseaux  and  Bear  rivers,  we  continued  to  descend  the 
valley,  which  gradually  expanded,  as  we  advanced,  into  a  level 
plain,  of  good  soil,  about  25  miles  in  breadth,  between  moun- 
tains 3,000  and  4,000  feet  high,  rising  suddenly  to  the  clouds, 
which  all  day  rested  upon  the  peaks.  These  gleamed  out  in 
the  occasional  sunlight,  mantled  with  the  snow  which  had  fallen 
upon  them,  while  it  rained  on  us  in  the  valley  below,  of  which 
the  elevation  here  was  4,500  feet  above  the  sea.  The  coun- 
try before  us  plainly  indicated  that  we  were  approaching  the 
lake,  though,  as  the  ground  we  were  traveling  afforded  no  ele- 
vated point,  nothing  of  it  as  yet  could  be  seen ;  and  at  a 
great  distance  ahead  were  several  isolated  mountains  resem- 
bling islands,  which  they  were  afterwards  found  to  be.  On  this 
upper  plain  the  grass  was  everywhere  dead ;  and  among  the 


192  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

shrubs  with  which  it  was  almost  exclusively  occupied,  (arte- 
misia  being  the  most  abundant,)  frequently  occurred  handsome 
clusters  of  several  species  of  dieteria  in  bloom.  Purslda  tri- 
dentata  was  among  the  frequent  shrubs.  Descending  to  the 
bottoms  of  Bear  river,  we  found  good  grass  for  the  animals, 
and  encamped  about  300  yards  above  the  mouth  of  Roseaux, 
which  here  makes  its  junction,  without  communicating  any  of 
its  salty  taste  to  the  main  stream,  of  which  the  water  remains 
perfectly  pure.  On  the  river  are  only  willow  thickets,  (salix 
longjfolia,)  and  in  the  bottoms  the  abundant  plants  are  canes, 
soldiago,  and  helianthi,  and  along  the  banks  of  Roseaux  are 
fields  of  tnalva  rotundifolia.  At  sunset  the  thermometer  was 
at  54-5°,  and  the  evening  clear  and  calm ;  but  I  deferred 
making  any  use  of  it  until  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  I 
endeavored  to  obtain  an  emersion  of  the  first  satellite ;  but  it 
was  lost  in  a  bank  of  clouds,  which  also  rendered  our  usual 
observations  indifferent. 

Among  the  useful  things  which  formed  a  portion  of  our 
equipage,  was  an  India-rubber  boat,  18  feet  long,  made  some- 
what in  the  form  of  a  bark  canoe  of  the  northern  lakes.  The 
sides  were  formed  by  two  air-tight  cylinders,  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter,  connected  with  others  forming  the  bow  and  stern. 
To  lessen  the  danger  from  accidents  to  the  boat,  these  were 
divided  into  four  different  compartments,  and  the  interior  space 
was  sufficiently  large  to  contain  five  or  six  persons,  and  a  con- 
siderable weight  of  baggage.  The  Roseaux  being  too  deep  to 
be  forded,  our  boat  was  filled  with  air,  and  in  about  one  hour 
all  the  equipage  of  the  camp,  carriage  and  gun  included,  fer- 
ried across.  Thinking  that  perhaps  in  the  course  of  the  day 
we  might  reach  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  I  got  into  the  boat  with 
Basil  Lajeunesse,  and  paddled  down  Bear  river,  intending  at 
night  to  rejoin  the  party,  which  in  the  mean  time  proceeded 
on  its  way.  The  river  was  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  yards 
broad,  and  the  water  so  deep,  that  even  on  the  comparatively 
shallow  points  we  could  not  reach  the  bottom  with  15  feet. 
On  either  side  were  alternately  low  bottoms  and  willow  points, 
with  an  occasional  high  prairie ;  and  for  five  or  six  hours  we 
followed  slowly  the  winding  course  of  the  river,  which  crept 


1843.J  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  193 

along  with  a  sluggish  current  among  frequent  detours  several 
miles  around,  sometimes  running  for  a  considerable  distance 
directly  up  the  valley.  As  we  were  stealing  quietly  down  the 
stream,  trying  in  vain  to  get  a  shot  at  a  strange  large  bird  that 
was  numerous  among  the  willows,  but  very  shy,  we  came  un- 
expectedly upon  several  families  of  Root-Diggers,  who  were 
encamped  among  the  rushes  on  the  shore,  and  appeared  very 
busy  about  several  weirs  or  nets  which  had  been  rudely  made 
of  canes  and  rushes  for  the  purpose  of  catching  fish.  They 
were  very  much  startled  at  our  appearance,  but  we  soon  es- 
tablished an  acquaintance ;  and  finding  that  they  had  some 
roots,  I  promised  to  send  some  men  with  goods  to  trade  with 
them.  They  had  the  usual  very  large  heads,  remarkable 
among  the  Digger  tribe,  with  matted  hair,  and  were  almost 
entirely  naked :  looking  very  poor  and  miserable,  as  if  their 
lives  had  been  spent  in  the  rushes  where  they  were,  beyond 
which  they  seemed  to  have  very  little  knowledge  of  any  thing. 
From  the  words  we  could  comprehend,  their  language  was 
that  of  the  Snake  Indians. 

Our  boat  moved  so  heavily,  that  we  had  made  very  little 
progress ;  and,  finding  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  overtake 
the  camp,  as  soon  as  we  were  sufficiently  far  below  the  Indians, 
we  put  to  the  shore  near  a  high  prairie  bank,  hauled  up  the 
boat,  and  cached  our  effects  in  the  willows.  Ascending  the 
bank,  we  found  that  our  desultory  labor  had  brought  us  only  a 
few  miles  in  a  direct  line  ;  and,  going  out  into  the  prairie,  after 
a  search  we  found  the  trail  of  the  camp,  which  was  nowhere  in 
sight,  but  had  followed  the  general  course  of  the  river  in  a  large 
circular  sweep  which  it  makes  at  this  place.  The  sun  was 
about  three  hours  high  when  we  found  the  trail ;  and  as  our 
people  had  passed  early  in  the  day,  we  had  the  prospect  of  a 
vigorous  walk  before  us.  Immediately  where  we  landed,  the 
high  arable  plain  on  which  we  had  been  traveling,  for  several 
days  past,  terminated  in  extensive  low  flats,  very  generally 
occupied  by  salt  marshes,  or  beds  of  shallow  lakes,  whence  the 
water  had  in  most  places  evaporated,  leaving  their  hard  surface 
incrusted  with  a  shining  white  residuum,  and  absolutely  cov- 
ered with  very  small  univalve  shells.  As  we  advanced,  the 
9 


194  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

whole  country  around  us  assumed  this  appearance ;  and  there 
was  no  other  vegetation  than  the  shrubby  chenopodiaceous  and 
other  apparently  saline  plants,  which  were  confined  to  the 
rising  grounds.  Here  and  there,  on  the  river  bank,  which 
was  raised  like  a  levee  above  the  flats  through  which  it  ran, 
was  a  narrow  border  of  grass  and  short  black-burnt  willows ; 
the  stream  being  very  deep  and  sluggish,  and  sometimes  six 
hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet  wide.  After  a  rapid  walk  of  about 
fifteen  miles,  we  caught  sight  of  the  camp-fires  among  clumps 
of  willows,  just  as  the  sun  had  sunk  behind  the  mountains  on 
the  west  side  of  the  valley,  filling  the  clear  sky  with  a  golden 
yellow.  These  last  rays,  to  us  so  precious,  could  not  have 
revealed  a  more  welcome  sight.  To  the  traveler  and  the 
hunter,  a  camp-fire  in  the  lonely  wilderness  is  always  cheer- 
ing ;  and  to  ourselves,  in  our  present  situation,  after  a  hard 
march  in  a  region  of  novelty,  approaching  the  debouches  of  a 
river,  in  a  lake  of  almost  fabulous  reputation,  it  was  doubly  so. 
A  plentiful  supper  of  aquatic  birds,  and  the  interest  of  the  scene, 
soon  dissipated  fatigue ;  and  I  obtained  during  the  night  emer- 
sions of  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  satellites  of  Jupiter,  with 
observations  for  time  and  latitude. 

3d. — The  morning  was  clear,  with  a  light  air  from  the  north, 
and  the  thermometer  at  sunrise  at  45-5°.  At  three  in  the 
morning,  Basil  was  sent  back  with  several  men  and  horses  for 
the  boat,  which,  in  a  direct  course  across  the  flats,  was  not  ten 
miles  distant ;  and  in  the  mean  time  there  was  a  pretty  spot  of 
grass  here  for  the  animals.  The  ground  was  so  low  that  we 
could  not  get  high  enough  to  see  across  the  river,  on  account 
of  the  willows ;  but  we  were  evidently  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
lake,  and  the  water-fowl  made  this  morning  a  noise  like  thun- 
der. A  pelican  (pelecanus  onocrotalus)  was  killed  as  he  passed 
by,  and  many  geese  and  ducks  flew  over  the  camp.  On  the 
dry  salt  marsh  here  is  scarce  any  other  plant  than  salicornia 
herbacea. 

In  the  afternoon  the  men  returned  with  the  boat,  bringing 
with  them  a  small  quantity  of  roots  and  some  meat,  which  the 
Indians  had  told  them  was  bear-meat. 

Descending  the  river  for  about  three  miles,  in  the  afternoon, 


1843.J  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  195 

we  found  a  bar  to  any  further  traveling  in  that  direction — the 
stream  being  spread  out  in  several  branches,  and  covering  the 
low  grounds  with  water,  where  the  miry  nature  of  the  bottom 
did  not  permit  any  further  advance.  We  were  evidently  on 
the  border  of  the  lake,  although  the  rushes  and  canes  which 
covered  the  marshes  prevented  any  view  ;  and  we  accordingly 
encamped  at  the  little  delta  which  forms  the  mouth  of  Bear 
river — a  long  arm  of  the  lake  stretching  up  to  the  north,  be- 
tween us  and  the  opposite  mountains.  The  river  was  bordered 
with  a  fringe  of  willows  and  canes,  among  which  were  inter- 
spersed a  few  plants ;  and  scattered  about  on  the  marsh  was  a 
species  of  uniola,  closely  allied  to  U.  spicata  of  our  sea-coast. 
The  whole  morass  was  animated  with  multitudes  of  water- fowl, 
which  appeared  to  be  very  wild — rising  for  the  space  of  a  mile 
round  about  at  the  sound  of  a  gun,  with  a  noise  like  distant 
thunder.  Several  of  the  people  waded  out  into  the  marshes, 
and  we  had  to-night  a  delicious  supper  of  ducks,  geese,  and 
plover. 

Although  the  moon  was  bright,  the  night  was  otherwise 
favorable ;  and  I  obtained  this  evening  an  emersion  of  the  first 
satellite,  with  the  usual  observations.  A  mean  result,  depend- 
ing on  various  observations  made  during  our  stay  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, places  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  longitude  112°  19'  30" 
west  from  Greenwich ;  latitude  41°  30'  22" ;  and,  according 
to  the  barometer,  in  elevation  4,200  feet  above  the  Gulf  oi 
Mexico.  The  night  was  clear,  with  considerable  dew,  which 
I  had  remarked  every  night  since  the  first  of  September.  The 
next  morning,  while  we  were  preparing  to  start,  Carson  rode 
into  the  camp  with  flour  and  a  few  other  articles  of  light  pro- 
vision, sufficient  for  two  or  three  days — a  scanty  but  very  ac- 
ceptable supply.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  had  not  yet  arrived,  and 
provisions  were  very  scarce,  and  difficult  to  be  had  at  Fort 
Hall,  which  had  been  entirely  exhausted  by  the  necessities  of 
the  emigrants.  He  brought  me  also  a  letter  from  Mr.  Dwight, 
who,  in  company  with  several  emigrants,  had  reached  that 
place  in  advance  of  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  and  was  about  continuing 
his  journey  to  Vancouver. 

Returning  about  five  miles  up  the  river,  we  were  occupied 


196  CAPT.  IREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

until  nearly  sunset  in  crossing  to  the  left  bank — the  stream, 
which  in  the  last  five  or  six  miles  of  its  course  is  very  much 
narrower  than  above,  being  very  deep  immediately  at  the 
banks ;  and  we  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  our  animals 
over.  The  people  with  the  baggage  were  easily  crossed  in 
the  boat,  and  we  encamped  on  the  left  bank  where  we  crossed 
the  river.  At  sunset  the  thermometer  was  at  75°,  and  there 
was  some  rain  during  the  night,  with  a  thunder-storm  at  a  dis- 
tance. 

5th. — Before  us  was  evidently  the  bed  of  the  lake,  being  a 
great  salt  marsh,  perfectly  level  and  bare,  whitened  in  places 
by  saline  efflorescences,  with  here  and  there  a  pool  of  water, 
and  having  the  appearance  of  a  very  level  seashore  at  low  tide. 
Immediately  along  the  river  was  a  very  narrow  strip  of  vege- 
tation, consisting  of  willows,  helianthi,  roses,  flowering  vines, 
and  grass ;  bordered  on  the  verge  of  the  great  marsh  by  a 
fringe  of  singular  plants,  which  appear  to  be  a  shrubby  sali- 
cornia,  or  a  genus  allied  to  it. 

About  12  miles  to  the  southward  was  one  of>  those  isolated 
mountains,  now  appearing  to  be  a  kind  of  peninsula ;  and  to- 
wards this  we  accordingly  directed  our  course,  as  it  probably 
afforded  a  good  view  of  the  lake  ;  but  the  deepening  mud  as 
we  advanced  forced  us  to  return  towards  the  river,  and  gain 
the  higher  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  eastern  mountains.  Here 
we  halted  for  a  few  minutes  at  noon,  on  a  beautiful  little 
stream  of  pure  and  remarkably  clear  water,  with  a  bed  of  rock 
in  situ,  on  which  was  an  abundant  water-plant  with  a  white 
blossom.  There  was  good  grass  in  the  bottoms ;  and,  amidst 
a  rather  luxuriant  growth,  its  banks  were  bordered  with  a 
large  showy  plant,  (eupatorium  purpureum,)  which  I  here  saw 
for  the  first  time.  We  named  the  stream  Clear  creek. 

We  continued  our  way  along  the  mountain,  having  found 
here  a  broad  plainly-beaten  trail,  over  what  was  apparently 
the  shore  of  the  lake  in  the  spring  ;  the  ground  being  high  and 
firm,  ana  the  soil  excellent,  and  covered  with  vegetation, 
among  which  a  leguminous  plant  (glycyrrhiza  lepidota)  was  a 
characteristic  plant.  The  ridge  here  r,ises  abruptly  to  the 
height  of  about  4,000  feet,  its  face  being  very  prominently 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  197 

marked  with  a  massive  stratum  of  rose-colored  granular  quartz, 
which  is  evidently  an  altered  sedimentary  rock,  the  lines  of 
deposition  being  very  distinct.  It  is  rocky  and  steep — divided 
into  several  mountains — and  the  rain  in  the  valley  appears  to 
be  always  snow  on  their  summits  at  this  season.  Near  a  re- 
markably rocky  point  of  the  mountain,  at  a  large  spring  of 
pure  water,  were  several  hackberry-trees,  (celtis,)  probably  a 
new  species,  the  berries  still  green  ;  and  a  short  distance  far- 
ther, thickets  of  sumach,  (rhus.) 

On  the  plain  here  I  noticed  blackbirds  and  grouse.  In  about 
seven  miles  from  Clear  creek,  the  trail  brought  us  to  a  place 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  where  there  issued,  with  considera- 
ble force,  10  or  12  hot  springs,  highly  impregnated  with  salt. 
In  one  of  these  the  thermometer  stood  at  136°,  and  in  another 
at  132-50,  and  the  water,  which  was  spread  in  pools  over  the 
low  ground,  was  colored  red. 

An  analysis  of  the  red  earthy  matter  deposited  in  the  bed  of 
the  stream  from  the  springs,  gives  the  following  result : 

Peroxide  of  iron         -         -        ...        .        .  33'50 

Carbonate  of  magnesia         _...._  2-40 

Carbonate  of  lime 50-43 

Sulphate  of  lime 2-00 

Chloride  of  sodium 3-45 

Silica  and  alumina       .......  3*00 

Water  and  loss                  -    ,  5-22 

100-00° 

At  this  place  the  trail  we  had  been  following  turned  to  the 
left,  apparently  with  a  view  of  entering  a  gorge  in  the  moun 
tain,  from  which  issued  the  principal  fork  of  a  large  and  com 
paratively  well-timbered  stream,  called  Weber's  fork.     We 
accordingly  turned  off  towards  the  lake,  and  encamped  on  this 
river,  which  was  100  to  150  feet  wide,  with  high  banks,  and 
very  clear  pure  water,   without   the   slightest   indication  of 
salt. 

6th. — Leaving  the  encampment  early,  we  again  directed  our 
course  for  the  peninsular  butte  across  a  low  shrubby  plain, 
crossing  in  the  way  a  slough-like  creek  with  miry  banks,  and 
wooded  with  thickets  of  thorn,  (cratagus,)  which  were  loaded 


198  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

with  berries.  This  time  we  reached  the  butte  without  any 
difficulty,  and,  ascending  to  the  summit,  immediately  at  our 
feet  beheld  the  object  of  our  anxious  search — the  waters  of  the 
Inland  Sea,  stretching  in  still  and  solitary  grandeur  far  beyond 
the  limit  of  our  vision.  It  was  one  of  the  great  points  of  the 
exploration  ;  and  as  we  looked  eagerly  over  the  lake  in  the  first 
emotions  of  excited  pleasure,  I  am  doubtful  if  the  followers  of 
Balboa  felt  more  enthusiasm  when,  from  the  heights  of  the 
Andes,  they  saw  for  the  first  time  the  great  Western  ocean. 
It  was  certainly  a  magnificent  object,  and  a  noble  terminus  to 
this  part  of  our  expedition ;  and  to  travelers  so  long  shut  up 
among  mountain  ranges,  a  sudden  view  over  the  expanse  of 
silent  waters  had  in  it  something  sublime.  Several  large  isl- 
ands raised  their  high  rocky  heads  out  of  the  waves  ;  but 
whether  or  not  they  were  timbered,  was  still  left  to  our  imagi- 
nation, as  the  distance  was  too  great  to  determine  if  the  dark 
hues  upon  them  were  woodland  or  naked  rock.  During  the 
day  the  clouds  had  been  gathering  black  over  the  mountains  to 
the  westward,  and,  while  we  were  looking,  a  storm  burst  down 
with  sudden  fury  upon  the  lake,  and  entirely  hid  the  inlands 
from  our  view.  So  far  as  we  could  see,  along  the  shores  there 
was  not  a  solitary  tree,  and  but  little  appearance  of  grass  ;  and 
on  Weber's  fork,  a  few  miles  below  our  last  encampment,  the 
timber  was  gathered  into  groves,  and  then  disappeared  entire- 
ly. As  this  appeared  to  be  the  nearest  point  to  the  lake,  where 
a  suitable  camp  could  be  found,  we  directed  our  course  to  one 
of  the  groves,  where  we  found  a  handsome  encampment,  with 
good  grass  and  an  abundance  of  rushes,  (equisetum  hyemale.) 
At  sunset  the  thermometer  was  at  55°  ;  the  evening  clear  and 
calm,  with  some  cumuli. 

7th. — The  morning  was  calm  and  clear,  with  a  temperature 
at  sunrise  of  39-5°.  The  day  was  spent  in  active  preparation 
*br  our  intended  voyage  on  the  lake.  On  the  edge  of  the  stream 
a  favorable  spot  was  selected  in  a  grove,  and,  felling  the  tim- 
ber, we  made  a  strong  coral,  or  horse-pen,  for  the  animals, 
and  a  little  fort  for  the  people  who  were  to  remain.  We  were 
now  probably  in  the  country  of  the  Utah  Indians,  though  none 
reside  on  the  lake.  The  India-rubber  boat  was  repaired  with 


1843.] 

prepared  cloth  and  gum,  and  filled  with  air,  in  readiness  for 
the  next  day. 

The  provisions  which  Carson  brought  with  him  being  now 
exhausted,  and  our  stock  reduced  to  a  small  quantity  of  roots, 
I  determined  to  retain  with  me  only  a  sufficient  number  of 
men  for  the  execution  of  our  design ;  and  accordingly  seven 
were  sent  back  to  Fort  Hall,  under  the  guidance  of  Fra^ois 
Lajeunesse,  who,  having  been  for  many  years  a  trapper  in  the 
country,  was  considered  an  experienced  mountaineer.  Though 
they  were  provided  with  good  horses,  and  the  road  was  a  re- 
markably plain  one  of  only  four  days'  journey  for  a  horse- 
man, they  became  bewildered,  (as  we  afterwards  learned,)  and, 
losing  their  way,  wandered  about  the  country  in  parties  of  one 
or  two,  reaching  the  fort  about  a  week  afterwards.  Some 
straggled  in  of  themselves,  and  the  others  were  brought  in  by 
Indians  who  had  picked  them  up  on  Snake  river,  about  sixty 
miles  below  the  fort,  traveling  along  the  emigrant  road  in  full 
ma  rch  for  the  Lower  Columbia.  The  leader  of  this  adventurous 
party  was  Francois. 

Hourly  barometrical  observations  were  made  during  the 
day,  and,  after  the  departure  of  the  party  for  Fort  Hall,  we 
occupied  ourselves  in  continuing  our  little  preparations,  and  in 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  country  in  the  vicinity.  The 
bottoms  along  the  river  were  timbered  with  several  kinds  of 
willow,  hawthorn,  and  fine  cotton  wood -trees  (poputtis  canaden- 
*is)  with  remarkably  large  leaves,  and  sixty  feet  in  height  by 
measurement. 

We  formed  now  but  a  small  family.  With  Mr.  Preuss  and 
myself,  Carson,  Bernier,  and  Basil  Lajeunesse,  had  been 
selected  for  the  boat  expedition — the  first  attempted  on  this  in- 
terior sea  ;  and  Badeau,  with  Derosier,  and  Jacob,  (the  colored 
man,)  were  to  be  left  in  charge  of  the  camp.  We  were  favor- 
ed with  most  delightful  weather.  To-night  there  was  a  bril- 
liant sunset  of  golden  orange  and  green,  which  left  the  west- 
ern sky  clear  and  beautifully  pure ;  but  clouds  in  the  east  made 
me  lose  an  occultation.  The  summer  frogs  were  singing  around 
us,  and  the  evening  was  very  pleasant,  with  a  temperature  of 
60° — a  night  of  a  more  southern  autumn.  For  our  supper 


200  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

we  had  yampah,  the  most  agreeably  flavored  of  the  roots, 
seasoned  by  a  small  fat  duck,  which  had  come  in  the  way  of 
Jacob's  rifle.  Around  our  fire  to-night  were  many  specula- 
tions on  what  to-morrow  would  bring  forth,  and  in  our  busy 
conjectures  we  fancied  that  we  should  find  every  one  of  the 
large  islands  a  tangled  wilderness  of  trees  and  shrubbery, 
teeming  with  game  of  every  description  that  the  neighboring 
region  afforded,  and  which  the  foot  of  a  white  man  or  Indian 
had  never  violated.  Frequently,  during  the  day,  clouds  had 
rested  on  the  summits  of  their  lofty  mountains,  and  we  be- 
lieved that  we  should  find  clear  streams  and  springs  of  fresh 
water ;  and  we  indulged  in  anticipations  of  the  luxurious  re- 
pasts with  which  we  were  to  indemnify  ourselves  for  past 
privations.  Neither,  in  our  discussions,  were  the  whirlpool 
and  other  mysterious  dangers  forgotten,  which  Indian  and 
hunters'  stories  attributed  to  this  unexplored  lake.  The  men 
had  found  that,  instead  of  being  strongly  sewed,  (like  that  of 
the  preceding  year,  which  had  so  triumphantly  rode  the  canons 
of  the  upper  Great  Platte,)  our  present  boat  was  only  pasted 
together  in  a  very  insecure  mariner,  the  maker  having  been 
allowed  so  little  time  in  the  construction,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  crowd  the  labor  of  two  months  into  several  days.  The 
insecurity  of  the  boat  was  sensibly  felt  by  us  ;  and,  mingled 
with  the  enthusiasm  and  excitement  that  we  all  felt  at  the 
prospect  of  an  undertaking  which  had  never  before  been  ac- 
complished, was  a  certain  impression  of  danger,  sufficient  to 
give  a  serious  character  to  our  conversation.  The  momentary 
view  which  had  been  had  of  the  lake  the  day  before,  its  great 
extent  and  rugged  islands,  dimly  seen  amidst  the  dark  waters 
in  the  obscurity  of  the  sudden  storm,  were  calculated  to  heighten 
the  idea  of  undefined  danger  with  which  the  lake  was  generally 
associated. 

8th. — A  calm,  clear  day,  with  a  sunrise  temperature  of 
41°.  In  view  of  our  present  enterprise,  a  part  of  the  equip- 
ment of  the  boat  had  been  made  to  consist  in  three  air-tight 
bags,  about  three  feet  long,  and  capable  each  of  containing  five 
gallons.  These  had  been  filled  with  water  the  night  before, 
and  were  now  placed  in  the  boat,  with  our  blankets  and  instru. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  201 

ments,  consisting  of  a  sextant,  telescope,  spy-glass,  thermome- 
ter, and  barometer. 

We  left  the  camp  at  sunrise,  and  had  a  very  pleasant  voyage 
down  the  river,  in  which  there  was  generally  eight  or  ten  feet 
of  water,  deepening  as  we  neared  the  mouth  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  day.  In  the  course  of  the  morning  we  discovered  that 
two  of  the  cylinders  leaked  so  much  as  to  require  one  man 
constantly  at  the  bellows,  to  keep  them  sufficiently  full  of  air 
to  support  the  boat.  Although  we  had  made  a  very  early 
start,  we  loitered  so  much  on  the  way — stopping  every  now 
and  then,  and  floating  silently  along,  to  get  a  shot  at  a  goose 
or  duck — that  it  was  late  in  the  day  when  we  reached  the 
outlet.  The  river  here  divided  into  several  branches,  filled  with 
fluvials,  and  so  very  shallow  that  it  was  with  difficulty  we 
could  get  the  boat  along,  being  obliged  to  get  out  and  wade. 
We  encamped  on  a  low  point  among  rushes  and  young  willows, 
where  was  a  quantity  of  drift-wood,  which  served  for  our  fires. 
The  evening  was  mild  and  clear ;  we  made  a  pleasant  bed  of 
young  willows ;  and  geese  and  ducks  enough  had  been  killed 
for  an  abundant  supper  at  night,  and  for  breakfast  the  next 
morning.  The  stillness  of  the  night  was  enlivened  by  millions 
of  water-fowl.  Lat.  (by  observation)  41°  11'  26";  and  long. 
112°  11'  30". 

9th. — The  day  was  clear  and  calm  ;  the  thermometer  at 
sunrise  at  49°.  As  is  usual  with  the  trappers  on  the  eve  of 
any  enterprise,  our  people  had  made  dreams,  and  theirs  hap- 
pened to  be  a  bad  one — one  which  always  preceded  evil — and 
consequently  they  looked  very  gloomy  this  morning  ;  but  we 
hurried  through  our  breakfast,  in  order  to  made  an  early  start, 
and  have  all  the  day  before  us  for  our  adventure.  The  chan- 
nel in  a  short  distance  became  so  shallow  that  our  navigation 
was  at  an  end,  being  merely  a  sheet  of  soft  mud,  with  a  few 
inches  of  water,  and  sometimes  none  at  all,  forming  the  low- 
water  shore  of  the  lake.  All  this  place  was  absolutely  cover- 
ed with  flocks  of  screaming  plover.  We  took  off  our  clothes, 
and,  getting  overboard,  commenced  dragging  the  boat — making, 
by  this  operation,  a  very  curious  trail,  and  a  very  disagreeable 
smell  in  stirring  up  the  mud,  as  we  sank  above  the  knee  at 
9* 


202  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

every  step.  The  water  here  was  still  fresh,  with  only  an  in- 
sipid and  disagreeable  taste,  probably  derived  from  the  bed  of 
fetid  mud.  After  proceeding  in  this  way  about  a  mile,  we 
came  to  a  small  black  ridge  on  the  bottom,  beyond  which  the 
water  became  suddenly  salt,  beginning  gradually  to  deepen, 
and  the  bottom  was  sandy  and  firm.  It  was  a  remarkable  di- 
vision, separating  the  fresh  waters  of  the  rivers  from  the  briny 
water  of  the  lake,  which  was  entirely  saturated  with  common 
salt.  Pushing  our  little  vessel  across  the  narrow  boundary, 
we  sprang  on .  board,  and  at  length  were  afloat  on  the  waters 
of  the  unknown  sea. 

We  did  not  steer  for  the  mountainous  islands,  but  directed 
our  course  towards  a  lower  one,  which  it  had  been  decided  we 
should  first  visit,  the  summit  of  which  was  formed  like  the 
crater  at  the  upper  end  of  Bear  River  valley.  So  long  as  we 
could  touch  the  bottom  with  our  paddles,  we  were  very  gay  ; 
but  gradually,  as  the  water  deepened,  we  became  more  still  in 
our  frail  batteau  of  gum-cloth  distended  with  air,  and  with 
pasted  seams.  Although  the  day  was  very  calm,  there  was  a 
considerable  swell  on  the  lake ;  and  there  were  white  patches 
of  foam  on  the  surface,  which  were  slowly  moving  to  the 
southward,  indicating  the  set  of  a  current  in  that  direction,  and 
recalling  the  recollection  of  the  whirlpool  stories.  The  water 
continued  to  deepen  as  we  advanced — the  lake  becoming  al- 
most transparently  clear,  of  an  extremely  beautiful  bright-green 
color ;  and  the  spray,  which  was  thrown  into  the  boat  and 
over  our  clothes,  was  directly  converted  into  a  crust  of  com- 
mon salt,  which  covered  also  our  hands  and  arms.  "  Captain," 
said  Carson,  who  for  some  time  had  been  looking  suspiciously 
at  some  whitening  appearances  outside  the  nearest  islands, 
"  what  are  those  yonder  ? — won't  you  just  take  a  look  with 
the  glass  ?"  We  ceased  paddling  for  a  moment,  and  found 
them  to  be  the  caps  of  the  waves  that  were  beginning  to 
break  under  the  force  of  a  strong  breeze  that  was  coming  up 
the  lake. 

The  form  of  the  boat  seemed  to  be  an  admirable  one,  and  it 
rode  on  the  waves  like  a  water-bird ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it 
was  extremely  slow  in  its  progress.  When  we  were  a  little 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE. 

more  than  half  way  across  the  reach,  two  of  the  divisions  be- 
tween the  cylinders  gave  way,  and  it  required  the  constant  use 
of  the  bellows  to  keep  in  a  sufficient  quantity  of  air.  For  a 
long  time  we  scarcely  seemed  to  approach  our  island,  but 
gradually  we  worked  across  the  rougher  sea  of  the  open  chan- 
nel, into  the  smoother  water  under  the  lee  of  the  island,  and 
began  to  discover  that  what  we  took  for  a  long  row  of  pelicans, 
ranged  on  the  beach,  were  only  low  cliffs  whitened  with  salt 
by  the  spray  of  the  waves ;  and  about  noon  we  reached  the 
shore,  the  transparency  of  the  water  enabling  us  to  see  the  bot- 
tom at  a  considerable  depth. 

It  was  a  handsome  broad  beach  where  we  landed,  behind 
which  the  hill,  into  which  the  island  was  gathered,  rose  some- 
what abruptly  ;  and  a  point  of  rock  at  one  end  enclosed  it  in  a 
sheltering  way ;  and  as  there  was  an  abundance  of  drift-wood 
along  the  shore,  it  offered  us  a  pleasant  encampment.  We  did 
not  suffer  our  frail  boat  to  touch  the  sharp  rocks,  but,  getting 
overboard,  discharged  the  baggage,  and,  lifting  it  gently  out  of 
the  water,  carried  it  to  the  upper  part  of  the  beach,  which  was 
composed  of  very  small  fragments  of  rock. 

Among  the  successive  banks  of  the  beach,  formed  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  waves,  our  attention,  as  we  approached  the  island, 
had  been  attracted  by  one  10  to  20  feet  in  breadth,  of  a  dark- 
brown  color.  Being  more  closely  examined,  this  was  found  to 
be  composed,  to  the  depth  of  seven  or  eight  and  twelve  inches, 
entirely  of  the  larva  of  insects,  or,  in  common  language,  of  the 
skins  of  worms,  about  the  size  of  a  grain  of  oats,  which  had 
been  washed  up  by  the  waters  of  the  lake. 

Alluding  to  this  subject  some  months  afterwards,  when  trav- 
eling through  a  more  southern  portion  of  this  region,  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  Joseph  Walker,  an  old  hunter,  I  was  informed 
by  him,  that,  wandering  with  a  party  of  men  in  a  mountain 
country  east  of  the  great  California  range,  he  surprised  a  party 
of  several  Indian  families  encamped  near  a  small  salt  lake, 
who  abandoned  their  lodges  at  his  approach,  leaving  every 
thing  behind  them.  Being  in  a  starving  condition,  they  were 
delighted  to  find  in  the  abandoned  lodges  a  number  of  skin 
bags,  containing  a  quantity  of  what  appeared  to  be  fish,  dried 


204  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE  [SEPT. 

and  pounded.  On  this  they  made  a  hearty  supper,  and  were 
gathering  around  an  abundant  breakfast  the  next  morning, 
when  Mr.  Walker  discovered  t£at  it  was  with  these,  or  a  simi- 
lar worm,  that  the  bags  had  been  filled.  The  stomachs  of  the 
stout  trappers  were  notjproof  against  their  prejudices,  and  the 
repulsive  food  was  suddenly  rejected.  Mr.  Walker  had  fur- 
ther opportunities  of  seeing  these  worms  used  as  an  article  of 
food  ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  they  are  the  same  as  those 
we  saw,  and  appear  to  be  a  product  of  the  salt  lakes.  It  may 
be  well  to  recall  to  your  mind  that  Mr.  Walker  was  associated 
with  Capt.  Bonneville  in  his  expedition  to  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  has  since  that  time  remained  in  the  country,  gener- 
ally residing  in  some  one  of  the  Snake  villages,  when  not  en- 
gaged in  one  of  his  numerous  trapping  expeditions,  in  which  he 
is  celebrated  as  one  of  the  best  and  bravest  leaders  who  have 
ever  been  in  the  country. 

The  cliffs  and  masses  of  rock  along  the  shore  were  whitened 
by  an  incrustation  of  salt  where  the  waves  dashed  up  against 
them ;  and  the  evaporating  water,  which  had  been  left  in  holes 
and  hollows  on  the  surface  of  the  rocks,  was  covered  with  a 
crust  of  salt  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  It  ap- 
peared strange  that,  in  the  midst  of  this  grand  reservoir,  one 
of  our  greatest  wants  lately  had  been  salt.  Exposed  to  be 
more  perfectly  dried  in  the  sun,  this  became  very  white  and 
fine,  having  the  usual  flavor  of  very  excellent  common  salt, 
without  any  foreign  taste ;  but  only  a  little  was  collected  for 
present  use,  as  there  was  in  it  a  number  of  small  black  insects. 

Carrying  with  us  the  barometer  and  other  instruments,  in  the 
afternoon  we  ascended  to  the  highest  point  of  the  island — a 
bare,  rocky  peak,  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  lake.  Stand- 
ing on  the  summit,  we  enjoyed  an  extended  view  of  the  lake, 
enclosed  in  a  basin  of  rugged  mountains,  which  sometimes  left 
marshy  flats  and  extensive  bottoms  between  them  and  the  shore, 
and  in  other  places  came  directly  down  into  the  water  with 
bold  and  precipitous  bluffs.  Following  with  our  glasses  the 
irregular  shores,  we  searched  for  some  indications  of  a  commu- 
nication with  other  bodies  of  water,  or  the  entrance  of  other 
rivers ;  but  the  distance  was  so  great  that  we  could  make  out 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  206 

nothing  with  certainty.  To  the  southward,  several  peninsular 
mountains,  3,000  or  4,000  feet  high,  entered  the  lake,  appear- 
ing, so  far  as  the  distance  and  our  position  enabled  us  to  deter- 
mine, to  be  connected  by  flats  and  low  ridges  with  the  moun- 
tains in  the  rear.  These  are  probably  the  islands  usually  in- 
dicated on  maps  of  this  region  as  entirely  detached  from  the 
shore.  The  season  of  our  operations  was  when  the  waters  were 
at  their  lowest  stage.  At  the  season  of  high  waters  in  the 
spring,  it  is  probable  that  the  marshes  and  low  grounds  are 
overflowed,  and  the  surface  of  the  lake  considerably  greater. 
In  several  places  the  view  was  of  unlimited  extent — here  and 
there  a  rocky  islet  appearing  above  the  waters,  at  a  great  dis- 
tance ;  and  beyond,  every  thing  was  vague  and  undefined.  As 
we  looked  over  the  vast  expanse  of  water  spread  out  beneath 
us,  and  strained  our  eyes  along  the  silent  shores  over  which 
hung  so  much  doubt  and  uncertainty,  and  which  were  so  full 
of  interest  to  us,  I  could  hardly  repress  the  almost  irresistible 
desire  to  continue  our  explorations ;  but  the  lengthening  snow 
on  the  mountains  was  a  plain  indication  of  the  advancing  sea- 
son, and  our  frail  linen  boat  appeared  so  insecure  that  I  was 
unwilling  to  trust  our  lives  to  the  uncertainties  of  the  lake.  I 
therefore  unwillingly  resolved  to  terminate  our  survey  here, 
and  remain  satisfied  for  the  present  with  what  we  had  been 
able  to  add  to  the  unknown  geography  of  the  region.  We  felt 
pleasure,  also,  in  remembering  that  we  were  the  first  who,  in 
the  traditionary  annals  of  the  country,  had  visited  the  islands, 
and  broken,  with  the  cheerful  sound  of  human  voices,  the  long 
solitude  of  the  place.  From  the  point  where  we  were  standing, 
the  ground  fell  off*  on  every  side  to  the  water,  giving  us  a  per- 
fect view  of  the  island,  which  is  twelve  or  thirteen  miles  in 
circumference,  being  simply  a  rocky  hill,  on  which  there  is 
neither  water  nor  trees  of  any  kind ;  although  the  Fremontia 
vermicularis,  which  was  in  great  abundance,  might  easily  be 
taken  for  timber  at  a  distance.  The  plant  seemed  here  to  de- 
light in  a  congenial  air,  growing  in  extraordinary  luxuriance 
seven  to  eight  feet  high,  and  was  very  abundant  on  the  upper 
parts  of  the  island,  where  it  was  almost  the  only  plant.  This 
is  eminently  a  saline  shrub ;  its  leaves  have  a  salt  taste  ;  and 


206  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

it  Luxuriates  in  saline  soils,  where  it  is  usually  a  characteristic. 
It  is  widely  diffused  over  all  this  country.  A  chenopodiaceous 
shrub,  which  is  a  new  species  of  OBIONE,  (O.  rigida,  Torr.  and 
Frem.,)  was  equally  characteristic  of  the  lower  parts  of  the 
island.  These  two  are  the  striking  plants  on  the  island,  and 
belong  to  a  class  of  plants  which  form  a  prominent  feature  in 
the  vegetation  of  this  country.  On  the  lower  parts  of  the 
island,  also,  a  prickly  pear  of  very  large  size  was  frequent. 
On  the  shore,  near  the  water,  was  a  woolly  species  of  phaca  ; 
and  a  new  species  of  umbelliferous  plant  (leptolcemia)  was  scat- 
tered about  in  very  considerable  abundance.  These  consti- 
tuted all  the  vegetation  that  now  appeared  upon  the  island. 

I  accidentally  left  on  the  summit  the  brass  cover  to  the  ob- 
ject end  of  my  spy-glass  :  and  as  it  will  probably  remain  there 
undisturbed  by  Indians,  it  will  furnish  matter  of  speculation  to 
some  future  traveler.  In  our  excursions  about  the  island,  we 
did  not  meet  with  any  kind  of  animal ;  a  magpie,  and  another 
larger  bird,  probably  attracted  by  the  smoke  of  our  fire,  paid 
us  a  visit  from  the  shore,  and  were  the  only  living  things  seen 
during  our  stay.  The  rock  constituting  the  cliffs  along  the 
shore,  where  we  were  encamped,  is  a  talcous  rock,  or  steatite, 
with  brown  spar. 

At  sunset,  the  temperature  was  70°.  We  had  arrived  just 
in  time  to  obtain  a  meridian  altitude  of  the  sun,  and  other  ob- 
servations were  obtained  this  evening,  which  placed  our  camp 
in  latitude  41°  10'  42",  and  longitude  112°  21'  05"  from 
Greenwich.  From  a  discussion  of  the  barometrical  observa- 
tions made  during  our  stay  on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  we  have 
adopted  4,200  feet  for  its  elevation  above  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
In  the  first  disappointment  we  felt  from  the  dissipation  of  our 
dream  of  the  fertile  islands,  I  called  this  Disappointment  island. 

Out  of  the  drift-wood,  we  made  ourselves  pleasant  little 
lodges,  open  to  the  water  ;  and,  after  having  kindled  large  fires 
to  excite  the  wonder  of  any  straggling  savage  on  the  lake 
shores,  lay  down,  for  the  first  time  in  a  long  journey,  in  per- 
fect security  ;  no  one  thinking  about  his  arms.  The  evening 
was  extremely  bright  and  pleasant ;  but  the  wind  rose  during 
the  night,  and  the  waves  began  to  break  heavily  on  the  shore, 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  207 

making  our  island  tremble.  I  had  not  expected  in  our  inland 
•ourney  to  hear  the  roar  of  an  ocean  surf;  and  the  strange- 
ness of  our  situation,  and  the  excitement  we  felt  in  the  associ- 
ated interest  of  the  place,  made  this  one  of  the  most  interesting 
nights  I  made  during  our  long  expedition. 

In  the  morning,  the  surf  was  breaking  heavily  on  the  shore, 
and  we  were  up  early.  The  lake  was  dark  and  agitated,  and 
we  hurried  through  our  scanty  breakfast,  and  embarked — hav- 
ing first  fiJled  one  of  the  buckets  with  water  from  the  lake,  of 
which  it  was  intended  to  make  salt.  The  sun  had  risen  by 
the  time  we  were  ready  to  start ;  and  it  was  blowing  a  strong 
gale  of  wind,  almost  directly  off  the  shore,  and  raising  a  con- 
siderable sea,  in  which  our  boat  strained  very  much.  It 
roughened  as  we  got  away  from  the  island,  and  it  required  all 
the  efforts  of  the  men  to  make  any  head  against  the  wind  and 
sea,  the  gale  rising  with  the  sun ;  and  there  was  danger  of 
being  blown  into  one  of  the  open  reaches  beyond  the  island. 
At  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  from  the  beach,  the  depth  of  the 
water  was  16  feet,  with  a  clay  bottom  ;  but,  as  the  working  of 
the  boat  was  very  severe  labor,  and  during  the  operation  of 
sounding  it  was  necessary  to  cease  paddling,  during  which  the 
boat  lost  considerable  way,  I  was  unwilling  to  discourage  the 
men,  and  reluctantly  gave  up  my  intention  of  ascertaining  the 
depth  and  the  character  of  the  bed.  There  was  a  general 
shout  in  the  boat  when  we  found  ourselves  in  one  fathom,  and 
we  soon  after  landed  on  a  low  point  of  mud,  immediately  un- 
der the  butte  of  the  peninsula,  where  we  unloaded  the  boat, 
and  carried  the  baggage  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  firmer 
ground.  We  arrived  just  in  time  for  meridian  observation, 
and  carried  the  barometer  to  the  summit  of  the  butte,  which  is 
500  feet  above  the  lake.  Mr.  Preuss  set  off  on  foot  for  the 
camp,  which  was  about  nine  miles  distant ;  Basil  accompany- 
ing him,  to  bring  back  horses  for  the  boat  and  baggage. 

The  rude-looking  shelter  we  raised  on  the  shore,  our  scat- 
tered baggage  and  boat  lying  on  the  beach,  made  quite  a  pic- 
ture ;  and  we  called  this  the  Fisherman's  camp.  Lynosiris 
graveolens,  and  another  new  species  of  OBIONE,  (O.  confertifo- 
lia — Torr.  fy  Frem.,)  were  growing  on  the  low  grounds,  with 


CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

interspersed  spots  of  an  unwholesome  salt  grass,  on  a  saline 
clay  soil,  with  a  few  other  plants. 

The  horses  arrived  late  in  the  afternoon,  by  which  time  the 
gale  had  increased  to  such  a  height  that  a  man  could  scarcely 
stand  before  it ;  and  we  were  obliged  to  pack  our  baggage 
hastily,  as  the  rising  water  of  the  lake  had  already  reached 
the  point  where  we  were  halted.  Looking  back  as  we  rode 
off,  we  found  the  place  of  recent  encampment  entirely  cover- 
ed. The  low  plain  through  which  we  rode  to  the  camp  was 
covered  with  a  compact  growth  of  shrubs  of  extraordinary 
size  and  luxuriance.  The  soil  was  sandy  and  saline ;  flat 
places,  resembling  the  beds  of  ponds,  that  were  bare  of  vegeta- 
tion, and  covered  with  a  powdery  white  salt,  being  interspersed 
among  the  shrubs.  Artemisia  tridentata  was  very  abundant, 
but  the  plants  were  principally  saline ;  a  large  and  vigorous 
chenopodiaceous  shrub,  five  to  eight  feet  high,  being  charac- 
teristic, with  Fremontia  vermicularis,  and  a  shrubby  plant 
which  seems  to  be  a  new  salicornia.  We  reached  the  camp 
in  time  to  escape  a  thunder-storm  which  blackened  the  sky,  and 
were  received  with  a  discharge  of  the  howitzer  by  the  peo 
pie,  who,  having  been  unable  to  see  any  thing  of  us  on  the 
lake,  had  begun  to  feel  some  uneasiness. 

llth. — To-day  we  remained  at  this  camp,  in  order  to  obtain 
some  further  observations,  and  to  boil  down  the  water  which 
had  been  brought  from  the  lake,  for  a  supply  of  salt.  Roughly 
evaporated  over  the  fire,  the  five  gallons  of  water  yielded  four- 
teen pints  of  very  fine-grained  and  very  white  salt,  of  which 
the  whole  lake  may  be  regarded  as  a  saturated  solution.  A 
portion  of  the  salt  thus  obtained  has  been  subjected  to  analysis, 
giving,  in  100  parts,  the  following  proportions : 

Analysis  of  the  salt. 

Chloride  of  sodium,  (common  salt,)      -  97-80 

Chloride  of  calcium,        ^»        .....  0-61 

Chloride  of  magnesium,     -        •       .V     _*-        ^       ".  0-24 

Sulphate  of  soda,       -         -        -        -       '-        •      '^  •      0'23 

Sulphate  of  lime,       -         -        •       '-        -        -        -  M2 

100-00 
Glancing  your  eye  along  the  map,  you  will  see  a  small 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  209 

stream  entering  Utah  lake,  south  of  the  Spanish  fork,  and  the 
first  waters  of  that  lake  which  our  road  of  1844  crosses  in 
coming  up  from  the  southward.  When  I  was  on  this  stream 
with  Mr.  Walker  in  that  year,  he  informed  me  that  on  the  up- 
per part  of  the  river  are  immense  beds  of  rock-salt  of  very 
great  thickness,  which  he  had  frequently  visited.  Farther  to 
the  southward,  the  rivers  which  are  affluent  to  the  Colorado, 
such  as  the  Rio  Virgen,  and  Gila  river,  near  their  mouths, 
are  impregnated  with  salt  by  the  cliffs  of  rock-salt  between 
which  they  pass.  These  mines  occur  in  the  same  ridge  in 
.vhich,  about  120  miles  to  the  northward,  and  subsequently  in 
their  more  immediate  neighborhood,  we  discovered  the  fossils 
belonging  to  the  oolitic  period,  and  they  are  probably  connect- 
ed with  that  formation,  and  are  the  deposite  from  which  the 
Great  Lake  obtains  its  salt.  Had  we  remained  longer,  we 
should  have  found  them  in  its  bed,  and  in  the  mountains  around 
its  shores.  By  observation  the  latitude  of  this  camp  is  41°  15' 
50",  and  longitude  112°  06'  43". 

The  observations  made  during  our  stay  give  for  the  rate  of 
the  chronometer  31  •72//,  corresponding  almost  exactly  with  the 
rate  obtained  at  St.  Vrain's  fort.  Barometrical  observations 
were  made  almost  hourly  during  the  day.  This  morning  we 
breakfasted  on  yampah,  and  had  only  kamas  for  supper ;  but 
a  cup  of  good  coffee  still  distinguished  us  from  our  Digger  ac- 
quaintances. 

12th. — The  morning  was  clear  and  calm,  with  a  tempera- 
ture at  sunrise  of  32°.  We  resumed  our  journey  late  in  the 
day,  returning  by  nearly  the  same  route  which  we  had  traveled 
in  coming  to  the  lake ;  and,  avoiding  the  passage  of  Hawthorn 
creek,  struck  the  hills  a  little  below  the  hot  salt-springs.  The 
flat  plain  we  had  here  passed  over  consisted  alternately  of  tolera- 
bly good  sandy  soil  and  of  saline  plats.  We  encamped  early 
on  Clear  creek,  at  the  foot  of  the  high  ridge  ;  one  of  the  peaks 
of  which  we  ascertained  by  measurement  to  be  4,210  feet 
above  the  lake,  or  about  8,400  feet  above  the  sea.  Behind 
these  front  peaks  the  ridge  rises  towards  the  Bear  River  moun- 
tains,  which  are  probably  as  high  as  the  Wind  River  chain 
This  creek  is  here  unusually  well  timbered  with  a  variety  of 


210  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

trees.  Among  them  were  birch,  (betula,)  the  narrow-leaved 
poplar,  (populus  angustifolia,)  several  kinds  of  willow,  (solix,) 
hawthorn,  (cratagus,)  alder,  (alnus  viridis,)  and  cerasus,  with 
an  oak  allied  to  quercus  alba,  but  very  distinct  from  that  or  any 
other  species  in  the  United  States. 

We  had  to-night  a  supper  of  sea-gulls,  which  Carson  killed 
near  the  lake.  Although  cool,  the  thermometer  standing  at 
47°,  musquitoes  were  sufficiently  numerous  to  be  troublesome 
this  evening. 

13th. — Continuing  up  the  river  valley,  we  crossed  several 
small  streams ;  the  mountains  on  the  right  appearing  to  con- 
sist of  the  blue  limestone  which  we  had  observed  in  the  same 
ridge  to  the  northward,  alternating  here  with  a  granular  quartz 
already  mentioned.  One  of  these  streams,  which  forms  a 
smaller  lake  near  the  river,  was  broken  up  into  several  chan- 
nels; and  the  irrigated  bottom  of  fertile  soil  was  covered 
with  innumerable  flowers,  among  which  were  purple  fields  of 
eupatorium  purpureum,  with  helianthi,  a  handsome  solidago,  (S. 
canadensis,)  and  a  variety  of  other  plants  in  bloom.  Continu- 
ing along  the  foot  of  the  hills,  in  the  afternoon  we  found  five 
or  six  hot-springs  gushing  out  together,  beneath  a  conglomerate, 
consisting  principally  of  fragments  of  a  grayish-blue  limestone, 
efflorescing  a  salt  upon  the  surface.  The  temperature  of  these 
springs  was  134°,  and  the  rocks  in  the  bed  were  colored  with 
a  red  deposite,  and  there  was  common  salt  crystallized  on  the 
margin.  There  was  also  a  white  incrustation  upon  leaves  and 
roots,  consisting  principally  of  carbonate  of  lime.  There 
were  rushes  seen  along  the  road  this  afternoon,  and  the  soil 
under  the  hills  was  very  black,  and  apparently  very  good ; 
but  at  this  time  the  grass  is  entirely  dried  up.  We  encamped 
on  Bear  river,  immediately  below  a  cut-off,  the  canon  by  which 
the  river  enters  this  valley  bearing  north  by  compass.  The 
night  was  mild,  with  a  very  clear  sky ;  and  I  obtained  a  very 
excellent  observation  of  an  occultation  of  Tau.  Arietis,  with 
other  observations.  Both  immersion  and  emersion  of  the  star 
were  observed ;  but,  as  our  observations  have  shown,  the 
phase  at  the  bright  limb  generally  gives  incorrect  longitudes, 
and  we  have  adopted  the  result  obtained  from  the  emersion 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  211 

at  the  dark  limb,  without  allowing  any  weight  to  the  immer- 
sion. According  to  these  observations,  the  longitude  is  112° 
05'  12",  and  the  latitude  41°  42'  43".  All  the  longitudes 
on  the  line  of  our  outward  journey,  between  St.  Vrain's  fort 
and  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia,  which  were  not  directly  de- 
termined by  satellites,  have  been  chronometrically  referred  to 
this  place. 

The  people  to-day  were  rather  low-spirited,  hunger  making 
them  very  quiet  and  peaceable  j  and  there  was  rarely  an  oath 
to  be  heard  in  the  camp — not  even  a  solitary  enfant  de  garce. 
It  was  time  for  the  men  with  an  expected  supply  of  provisions 
from  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  to  be  in  the  neighborhood ;  and  the  gun 
was  fired  at  evening,  to  give  notice  of  our  locality,  but  met 
with  no  response. 

14th. — About  four  miles  from  this  encampment,  the  trail 
led  us  down  to  the  river,  where  we  unexpectedly  found  an  ex- 
cellent ford — the  stream  being  widened  by  an  island,  and  not 
yet  disengaged  from  the  hills  at  the  foot  of  the  range.  We 
encamped  on  a  little  creek  where  we  had  made  a  noon  halt  in 
descending  the  river.  The  night  was  very  clear  and  pleasant, 
the  sunset  temperature  being  67°. 

The  people  this  evening  looked  so  forlorn,  that  I  gave  them 
permission  to  kill  a  fat  young  horse  which  I  had  purchased 
with  goods  from  the  Snake  Indians,  and  they  were  very  soon 
restored  to  gayety  and  good  humor.  Mr.  Preuss  and  myself 
could  not  yet  overcome  some  remains  of  civilized  prejudices, 
and  preferred  to  starve  a  little  longer ;  feeling  as  much  sad- 
dened as  if  a  crime  had  been  committed. 

The  next  day  we  continued  up  the  valley,  the  soil  being 
sometimes  very  black  and  good,  occasionally  gravelly,  and 
occasionally  a  kind  of  naked  salt  plains.  We  found  on  the 
way  this  morning  a  small  encampment  of  two  families  of 
Snake  Indians,  from  whom  we  purchased  a  small  quantity  of 
kooyah.  They  had  piles  of  seeds,  of  three  different  kinds, 
spread  out  upon  pieces  of  buffalo  robe  ;  and  the  squaws  had 
just  gathered  about  a  bushel  of  the  root  of  a  thistle,  (ctrcium 
Virginianum.)  They  were  about  the  ordinary  size  of  carrots, 
and,  as  I  have  previously  mentioned,  are  sweet  and  well 


212  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

flavored,  requiring  only  a  long  preparation.  They  had  a  band 
of  twelve  or  fifteen  horses,  and  appeared  to  be  growing  in 
the  sunshine  with  about  as  little  labor  as  the  plants  they  were 
eating. 

Shortly  afterwards  we  met  an  Indian  on  horseback  who  had 
killed  an  antelope,  which  we  purchased  of  him  for  a  little 
powder  and  some  balls.  We  crossed  the  Roseaux,  and  en- 
camped on  the  left  bank  ;  halting  early  for  the  pleasure  of 
enjoying  a  wholes<$me  and  abundant  supper,  and  were  pleasant- 
ly engaged  in  protracting  our  unusual  comfort,  when  Tabeau 
galloped  into  the  camp  with  news  that  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  was  en- 
camped close  by  us,  with  a  good  supply  of  provisions — flour, 
rice,  and  dried  meat,  and  even  a  little  butter.  Excitement  to- 
night made  us  all  wakeful ;  and  after  a  breakfast  before  sun- 
rise the  next  morning,  we  were  again  on  the  road,  and,  con- 
tinuing up  the  valley,  crossed  some  high  points  of  hills,  and 
halted  to  noon  on  the  same  stream,  near  several  lodges  of 
Snake  Indians,  from  whom  we  purchased  about  a  bushel  of 
service-berries,  partially  dried.  By  the  gift  of  a  knife,  I  pre- 
vailed upon  a  little  boy  to  show  me  the  kooyah  plant,  which 
proved  to  be  valeriana  edulis.  The  root  which  constitutes  the 
kooyah,  is  large,  of  a  very  bright  yellow  color,  with  the  charac- 
teristic odor,  but  not  so  fully  developed  as  in  the  prepared  sub- 
stance. It  loves  the  rich  moist  soil  of  river  bottoms,  which 
was  the  locality  in  which  I  always  afterwards  found  it.  It 
was  now  entirely  out  of  bloom  ;  according  to  my  observation, 
flowering  in  the  months  of  May  and  June.  In  the  afternoon 
we  entered  a  long  ravine  leading  to  a  pass  in  the  dividing  ridge 
between  the  waters  of  Bear  river  and  the  Snake  river,  or 
Lewis's  fork  of  the  Columbia ;  our  way  being  very  much  im- 
peded, and  almost  entirely  blocked  up,  by  compact  fields  of 
luxuriant  artemisia.  Taking  leave  at  this  point  of  the  waters 
of  Bear  river,  and  of  the  geographical  basin  which  encloses  the 
system  of  rivers  and  creeks  which  belong  to  the  Great  Salt 
Lake,  and  which  so  richly  deserves  a  future  detailed  and  ample 
exploration,  I  can  say  of  it,  in  general  terms,  that  the  bot- 
toms of  this  river,  (Bear,)  and  of  some  of  the  creeks  which  I 
saw,  form  a  natural  resting  and  recruiting  station  for  travel- 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  213 

ers,  now,  and  in  all  time  to  come.  The  bottoms  are  extensive ; 
water  excellent ;  timber  sufficient ;  the  soil  good,  and  well 
adapted  to  grains  and  grasses  suited  to  such  an  elevated  re- 
gion. A  military  post,  and  a  civilized  settlement,  would  be 
of  great  value  here  ;  grass  and  salt  so  much  abound.  The 
lake  will  furnish  exhaustless  supplies  of  salt.  All  the  moun- 
tains here  are  covered  with  a  valuable  nutritious  grass,  called 
bunch-grass,  from  the  form  in  which  it  grows,  which  has  a 
second  growth  in  the  fall.  The  beasts  of  the  Indians  were  fat 
upon  it ;  our  own  found  it  a  good  subsistence  ;  and  its  quantity 
will  sustain  any  amount  of  cattle,  and  make  this  truly  a  bucolic 
region. 

We  met  here  an  Indian  family  on  horseback,  which  had 
been  out  to  gather  service-berries,  and  were  returning  loaded. 
This  tree  was  scattered  about  on  the  hills  ;  and  the  upper  part 
of  the  pass  was  timbered  with  aspen,  (populus  trem.  ;)  the 
common  blue  flowering-flax  occurring  among  the  plants.  The 
approach  to  the  pass  was  very  steep,  and  the  summit  about 
6,300  feet  above  the  sea — probably  only  an  uncertain  approxi- 
mation, as  at  the  time  of  observation  it  was  blowing  a  violent 
gale  of  wind  from  the  northwest,  with  cumuli  scattered  in 
masses  over  the  sky,  the  day  otherwise  bright  and  clear.  We 
descended,  by  a  steep  slope,  into  a  broad  open  valley — good 
soil — from  four  to  five  miles  wide,  coming  down  immediately 
upon  one  of  the  head-waters  of  the  Pannack  river,  which  here 
loses  itself  in  swampy  ground.  The  appearance  of  the  coun- 
try here  is  not  very  interesting.  On  either  side  is  a  regular 
range  of  mountains  of  the  usual  character,  with  a  little  timber, 
tolerably  rocky  on  the  right,  and  higher  and  more  smooth  on 
the  left,  with  still  higher  peaks  looking  out  above  the  range. 
The  valley  afforded  a  good  level  road,  but  it  was  late  when  it 
brought  us  to  water,  and  we  encamped  at  dark.  The  north- 
west wind  had  blown  up  very  cold  weather,  and  the  artemisia, 
which  was  our  firewood  to-night,  did  not  happen  to  be  very 
abundant.  This  plant  loves  a  dry,  sandy  soil,  and  cannot 
grow  in  the  good  bottoms  where  it  is  rich  and  moist,  but  on  every 
little  eminence,  where  water  does  not  rest  long,  it  maintains 
absolute  possession.  Elevation  above  the  sea  about  5,100  feet. 


214  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

At  night  scattered  fires  glimmered  along  the  mountains, 
pointing  out  camps  of  the  Indians  ;  and  we  contrasted  the  com- 
parative security  in  which  we  traveled  through  this  country, 
with  the  guarded  vigilance  we  were  compelled  to  exert  among 
the  Sioux  and  other  Indians  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Rocky 
mountains. 

At  sunset  the  thermometer  was  at  50°,  and  at  midnight  at 
30°. 

17th. — The  morning  sky  was  calm  and  clear,  the  tempera- 
ture at  daylight  being  25°,  and  at  sunrise  20°.  There  is 
throughout  this  country  a  remarkable  difference  between  the 
morning  and  mid-day  temperatures,  which  at  this  season  was 
very  generally  40°  or  50°,  and  occasionally  greater  ;  and  fre- 
quently, after  a  very  frosty  morning,  the  heat  in  a  few  hours 
would  render  the  thinnest  clothing  agreeable.  About  noon  we 
reached  the  main  fork.  The  Pannack  river  was/ before  us,  the 
valley  being  here  1J  miles  wide,  fertile,  and  bordered  by 
smooth  hills,  not  over  500  feet  high,  partly  covered  with  ce- 
dar ;  a  high  ridge,  in  which  there  is  a  prominent  peak,  rising 
behind  those  on  the  left.  We  continued  to  descend  this  stream, 
and  found  on  it  at  night  a  warm  and  comfortable  camp.  Flax 
occurred  so  frequently  during  the  day  as  to  be  almost  a  cha- 
racteristic, and  the  soil  appeared  excellent.  The  evening  was 
gusty,  with  a  temperature  at  sunset  of  59°.  I  obtained,  about 
midnight,  an  observation  of  an  emersion  of  the  first  satellite, 
the  night  being  calm  and  very  clear,  the  stars  remarkably 
bright,  and  the  thermometer  at  30°.  Longitude,  from  mean 
of  satellite  and  chronometer,  112°  29'  52",  and  latitude,  by 
observation,  42°  44/  40". 

18th. — The  day  clear  and  calm,  with  a  temperature  of  25° 
at  sunrise.  After  traveling  seven  or  eight  miles,  we  emerged 
on  the  plains  of  the  Columbia,  in  sight  of  the  famous  "  Three 
Buttes"  a  well-known  landmark  in  the  country,  distant  about 
45  miles.  The  French  word  butte,  which  so  often  occurs  in 
this  narrative,  is  retained  from  the  familiar  language  of  the 
country,  and  identifies  the  objects  to  which  it  refers.  It  is 
naturalized  in  the  region  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and,  even  if 
desirable  to  render  it  in  English,  I  know  of  no  word  which 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  215 

would  be  its  precise  equivalent.  It  is  applied  to  the  detached 
hills  and  ridges  which  rise  rapidly,  and  reach  too  high  to  be 
called  hills  or  ridges,  and  not  high  enough  to  be  called  moun- 
tains. Knob,  as  applied  in  the  western  states,  is  their  descrip- 
tive term  in  English.  Cerro  is  the  Spanish  term  ;  but  no 
translation,  or  periphrasis,  would  preserve  the  identity  of  these 
picturesque  landmarks,  familiar  to  the  traveler,  and  often  seen 
at  a  great  distance.  Covered  as  far  as  could  be  seen  with  ar- 
temisia,  the  dark  and  ugly  appearance  of  this  plain  obtained 
for  it  the  name  of  Sage  Desert ;  and  we  were  agreeably  sur- 
prised, on  reaching  the  Portneuf  river,  to  see  a  beautiful  green 
valley  with  scattered  timber  spread  out  beneath  us,  on  which, 
about  four  miles  distant,  were  glistening  the  white  walls  of  the 
fort.  The  Portneuf  runs  along  the  upland  plain  nearly  to  its 
mouth,  and  an  abrupt  descent  of  perhaps  two  hundred  feet 
brought  us  down  immediately  upon  the  stream,  which  at  the 
ford  is  one  hundred  yards  wide,  and  three  feet  deep,  with 
clear  water,  a  swift  current,  and  gravelly  bed ;  but  a  little 
higher  up  the  breadth  was  only  about  thirty-five  yards,  with 
apparently  deep  water. 

In  the  bottom  I  remarked  a  very  great  number  of  springs 
and  sloughs,  with  remarkably  clear  water  and  gravel  beds. 
At  sunset  we  encamped  with  Mr.  Talbot  and  our  friends,  who 
came  on  to  Fort  Hall  when  we  went  to  the  lake,  and  whom  we 
had  the  satisfaction  to  find  all  well,  neither  party  having  met 
with  any  mischance  in  the  interval  of  our  separation.  They, 
too,  had  had  their  share  of  fatigue  and  scanty  provisions,  as 
there  had  been  very  little  game  left  on  the  trail  of  the  populous 
emigration ;  and  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  had  rigidly  husbanded  our 
stock  of  flour  and  light  provisions,  in  view  of  the  approaching 
winter  and  the  long  journey  before  us. 

19th. — This  morning  the  sky  was  very  dark  and  gloomy, 
and  at  daylight  it  began  snowing  thickly,  and  continued  all 
day,  with  cold,  disagreeable  weather.  At  sunrise  the  temper- 
ature was  43°.  I  rode  up  to  the  fort,  and  purchased  from  Mr. 
Grant  (the  officer  in  charge  of  the  post)  several  very  indiffer- 
ent horses,  and  five  oxen,  in  very  fine  order,  which  were  re- 
ceived at  the  camp  with  great  satisfaction  :  and,  one  being 


216  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT.* 

killed  at  evening,  the  usual  gayety  and  good  humor  were  at 
once  restored.  Night  came  in  stormy. 

20th. — We  had  a  night  of  snow  and  rain,  and  the  thermom- 
eter at  sunrise  was  at  34° ;  the  morning  was  dark,  with  a 
steady  rain,  and  there  was  still  an  inch  of  snow  on  the  ground, 
with  an  abundance  on  the  neighboring  hills  and  mountains. 
The  sudden  change  in  the  weather  was  hard  for  our  animals, 
who  trembled  and  shivered  in  the  cold — sometimes  taking  ref- 
uge in  the  timber,  and  now  and  then  coming  out  and  raking 
the  snow  off  the  ground  for  a  little  grass,  or  eating  the  young 
willows. 

21st. — Ice  made  tolerably  thick  during  this  night,  and  in  the 
morning  the  weather  cleared  up  very  bright,  with  a  tempera- 
ture at  sunrise  of  29°  ;  and  I  obtained  a  meridian  observation 
for  latitude  at  the  fort,  with  observations  for  time.  The  sky 
was  again  covered  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  thermometer  at 
sunset  48°. 

22d. — The  morning  was  cloudy  and  unpleasant,  and  at  sun- 
rise a  cold  rain  commenced,  with  a  temperature  of  41°. 

The  early  approach  of  winter,  and  the  difficulty  of  support- 
ing a  large  party,*  determined  me  to  send  back  a  number  of 
the  men  who  had  become  satisfied  that  they  were  not  fitted  for 
the  laborious  service  and  frequent  privation  to  which  they  were 
necessarily  exposed,  and  which  there  was  reason  to  believe 
would  become  more  severe  in  the  further  extension  of  the  voy- 
age. I  accordingly  called  them  together,  and,  informing  them 
of  my  intention  to  continue  our  journey  during  the  ensuing 
winter,  in  the  course  of  which  they  would  probably  be  exposed 
to  considerable  hardship,  succeeded  in  prevailing  on  a  number 
of  them  to  return  voluntarily.  These  were  :  Charles  de  For- 
rest,. Henry  Lee,  J.  Campbell,  Wm.  Creuss,  A.  Vasquez,  A. 
Pera,  Patrick  White,  B.  Tesson,  M.  Creely,  Francois  Lajeu- 
nesse,  Basil  Lajeunesse.  Among  these  I  regretted  very 
much  to  lose  Basil  Lajeunesse,  one  of  the  best  men  in  my 
party,  who  was  obliged,  by  the  condition  of  his  family,  to  be 
at  home  in  the  coming  winter.  Our  preparations  having  been 
completed  in  the  interval  of  our  stay  here,  both  parties  were 
ready  this  morning  to  resume  their  respective  routes. 


CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  217 

Except  that  there  is  a  greater  quantity  of  wood  used  in  its 
construction,  Fort  Hall  very  much  resembles  the  other  trading 
posts  which  have  already  been  described  to  you,  and  would  be 
another  excellent  post  of  relief  for  the  emigration.  It  is  in  the 
low  rich  bottom  of  a  valley,  apparently  20  miles  long,  formed 
by  the  confluence  of  Portneuf  river  with  Lewis's  fork  of  the 
Columbia,  which  it  enters  about  nine  miles  below  the  fort,  and 
narrowing  gradually  to  the  mouth  of  the  Pannack  river,  where  it 
has  a  breadth  of  only  two  or  three  miles.  Allowing  50  miles 
for  the  road  from  the  Beer  springs  of  Bear  river  to  Fort  Hall, 
its  distance  along  the  traveled  road  from  the  town  of  Westport, 
on  the  frontier  of  Missouri,  by  way  of  Fort  Laramie  and  the 
great  South  Pass,  is  1,323  miles.  Beyond  this  placre,  on  the 
line  of  road  along  the  barren  valley  of  the  Upper  Columbia, 
there  does  not  occur,  for  a  distance  of  nearly  300  miles  to  the 
westward,  a  fertile  spot  of  ground  sufficiently  large  to  produce 
the  necessary  quantity  of  grain,  or  pasturage  enough  to  allow 
even  a  temporary  repose  to  the  emigrants.  On  their  recent 
passage,  they  had  been  able  to  obtain,  at  very  high  prices 
in  insufficient  quantity,  only  such  assistance  as  could  be  aflbi 
ed  by  a  small  and  remote  trading-post — and  that  a  foreign  one — 
which,  in  the  supply  of  its  own  wants,  had  necessarily  drawn 
around  it  some  of  the  resources  of  civilization,  but  which  ob- 
tained nearly  all  its  supplies  from  the  distant  depot  of  Van- 
couver, by  a  difficult  water-carriage  of  250  miles  up  the  Co- 
lumbia river,  and  a  land-carriage  by  pack-horses  of  600  miles. 
An  American  military  post,  sufficiently  strong  to  give  to  their 
road  a  perfect  security  against  the  Indian  tribes,  who  are  un- 
settled in  locality  and  very  uncertain  in  their  disposition,  and 
which,  with  the  necessary  facilities  for  the  repair  of  their 
equipage,  would  be  able  to  afford  them  relief  in  stock  and 
grain  from  the  produce  of  the  post,  would  be  of  extraordinary 
value  to  the  emigration.  Such  a  post  (and  all  others  which 
may  be  established  on  the  line  to  Oregon)  would  naturally 
form  the  nucleus  of  a  settlement,  at  which  supplies  and  repose 
would  be  obtained  by  the  emigrant,  or  trading  caravans,  which 
may  hereafter  traverse  these  elevated,  and,  in  many  places, 
desolate  and  inhospitable  regions. 
10 


218  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEP*. 

I  subjoin  an  analysis  of  the  soil  in  the  river  bottom  neai 
Fort  Hall,  which  will  be  of  assistance  in  enabling  you  to  form 
some  correct  idea  of  its  general  character  in  the  neighboring 
country.  I  characterize  it  as  good  land,  but  the  analysis  will 
show  its  precise  properties. 

Analysis  of  the  Soil. 

Silicina 68-55 

Alumina .  7-45 

Carbonate  of  lime 8'51 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 5*09 

Oxide  of  iron            .         .         .        .         ,         .        .  1-40 

Organic  vegetable  matter 4-74 

Water  and  loss                                 .4            *.       .  4-26 


**     100-00 

Our  observations  place  this  post  in  longitude  112°  29'  54", 
latitude  43°  01'  30",  and  the  elevation  above  the  sea,  4,500 
feet. 

Taking  leave  of  the  homeward  party,  we  resumed  our  jour- 
ney  down  the  valley,  the  weather  being  very  cold,  and  the 
rain  coming  in  hard  gusts,  which  the  wind  blew  directly  in  our 
faces.  We  forded  the  Portneuf  in  a  storm  of  rain,  the  water 
in  the  river  being  frequently  up  to  the  axles,  and  about  110 
yards  wide.  After  the  gust,  the  weather  improved  a  little, 
and  we  encamped  about  three  miles  below,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Pannack  river,  on  Lewis's  fork,  which  here  has  a  breadth  of 
about  120  yards.  The  temperature  at  sunset  was  42°;  the 
sky  partially  covered  with  dark,  rainy  clouds. 

23d. — The  temperature  at  sunrise  was  32° ;  the  morning 
dark,  and  snow  falling  steadily  and  thickly,  with  a  light  air 
from  the  southward.  Profited  of  being  obliged  to  remain  in 
camp,  to  take  hourly  barometrical  observations  from  sunrise  to 
midnight.  The  wind  at  eleven  o'clock  set  in  from  the  north- 
ward in  heavy  gusts,  and  the  snow  changed  into  rain.  In  the 
afternoon,  when  the  sky  brightened,  the  rain  had  washed  all 
the  snow  from  the  bottoms;  but  the  neighboring  mountains, 
from  summit  to  foot,  were  luminously  white — an  inauspicious 
commencement  of  the  autumn,  of  which  this  was  the  first  day. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  219 

24th. — The  thermometer  at  sunrise  was  35°,  and  a  blue  sky 
in  the  west  promised  a  fine  day.  The  river  bottoms  here  are 
narrow  and  swampy,  with  frequent  sloughs ;  and  after  cross- 
ing the  Pannack,  the  road  continued  along  the  uplands,  ren- 
dered very  slippery  by  the  soil  of  wet  clay,  and  entirely  cov- 
ered with  artemisia  bushes,  among  which  occur  frequent  frag- 
ments of  obsidian.  At  noon  we  encamped  in  a  grove  of 
willows,  at  the  upper  end  of  a  group  of  islands  about  half  a 
mile  above  the  American  falls  of  Snake  river.  Among  the 
willows  here,  were  some  bushes  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  currant, 
(ribes  aureum.)  The  river  here  enters  between  low  mural 
banks,  which  consist  of  a  fine  vesicular  trap-rock,  the  interme- 
diate portions  being  compact  and  crystalline.  Gradually  be- 
coming higher  in  its  downward  course,  these  banks  of  scoriated 
volcanic  rock  form,  with  occasional  interruptions,  its  charac- 
teristic feature  along  the  whole  line  to  the  Dalles  of  the  Lower 
Columbia,  resembling  a  chasm  which  had  been  rent  through 
the  country,  and  which  the  river  had  afterwards  taken  for  its 
bed.  The  immediate  valley  of  the  river  is  a  high  plain  cov- 
ered with  black  rocks  and  artemisias.  In  the  south  is  a  bor- 
dering range  of  mountains,  which,  although  not  very  high,  are 
broken  and  covered  with  snow ;  and  at  a  great  distance  to  the 
north  is  seen  the  high,  snowy  line  of  the  Salmon  river  moun- 
tains, in  front  of  which  stand  out  prominently  in  the  plain  the 
three  isolated  rugged-looking  mountains  commonly  known  as 
the  Three  Suites.  Between  the  river  and  the  distant  Salmon 
river  range,  the  plain  is  represented  by  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  as  so 
entirely  broken  up  and  rent  into  chasms  as  to  be  impracticable 
for  a  man  even  on  foot.  In  the  sketch  annexed,  the  point  of 
view  is  low,  but  it  conveys  very  well  some  idea  of  the  open 
character  of  the  country,  with  the  buttes  rising  out  above  the 
general  line.  By  measurement,  the  river  above  is  870  feet 
wide,  immediately  contracted  at  the  fall  in  the  form  of  a  lock, 
by  jutting  piles  of  scoriaceous  basalt,  over  which  the  foaming 
river  must  present  a  grand  appearance  at  the  time  of  high 
water.  The  evening  was  clear  and  pleasant,  with  dew ;  and 
at  sunset  the  temperature  was  54°.  By  observation,  the  lati- 
tude is  42°  47'  05",  and  the  longitude  112°  4(K  13".  A  few 


220  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

hundred  yards  below  the  falls,  and  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
is  an  escarpment  from  which  we  obtained  some  specimens. 

25th. — Thermometer  at  sunrise  47°.  The  day  came  in 
clear,  with  a  strong  gale  from  the  south,  which  commenced  at 
eleven  of  the  last  night.  The  road  to-day  led  along  the  river, 
which  is  full  of  rapids  and  small  falls.  Grass  is  very  scanty  ; 
and  along  the  rugged  banks  are  scattered  cedars,  with  an 
abundance  of  rocks  and  sage.  We  traveled  fourteen  miles, 
and  encamped  in  the  afternoon  near  the  river,  on  a  rocky 
creek,  the  bed  of  which  was  entirely  occupied  with  boulders 
of  a  very  large  size.  For  the  last  three  or  four  miles  the 
right  bank  of  the  river  has  a  palisaded  appearance.  One  of 
the  oxen  was  killed  here  for  food.  The  thermometer  at  eve- 
ning was  at  55°,  the  sky  almost  overcast,  and  the  barometer 
indicated  an  elevation  of  4,400  feet. 

26th. — Rain  during  the  night,  and  the  temperature  at  sun- 
rise 42°.  Traveling  along  the  river,  in  about  four  miles  we 
reached  a  picturesque  stream,  to  which  we  gave  the  name  of 
Fall  creek.  It  is  remarkable  for  the  many  falls  which  occur 
in  a  short  distance ;  and  its  bed  is  composed  of  a  calcareous 
tufa,  or  vegetable  rock,  composed  principally  of  the  remains 
of  reeds  and  mosses,  resembling  that  at  the  Basin  spring,  on 
Bear  river. 

The  road  along  the  river  bluffs  had  been  occasionally  very 
bad ;  and  imagining  that  some  rough  obstacles  rendered  such 
a  detour  necessary,  we  followed  for  several  miles  a  plain 
wagon-road  leading  up  this  stream,  until  we  reached  a  point 
whence  it  could  be  seen  making  directly  towards  a  low  place 
in  the  range  on  the  south  side  of  the  valley,  and  we  became 
immediately  aware  that  we  were  on  a  trail  formed  by  a  party 
of  wagons,  in  company  with  whom  we  had  encamped  at  Elm 
grove,  near  the  frontier  of  Missouri,  and  which  you  will  re- 
member were  proceeding  to  Upper  California  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Mr.  Jos.  Chiles.  At  the  time  of  their  departure,  no 
practicable  passes  were  known  in  the  southern  Rocky  moun- 
tains within  the  territory  of  the  United  States ;  and  the  prob- 
able apprehension  of  difficulty  in  attempting  to  pass  near  the 
settled  frontier  of  New  Mexico,  together  with  the  desert  char 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  221 

acter  of  the  unexplored  region  beyond,  had  induced  them  to 
take  a  more  northern  and  circuitous  route  by  way  of  the  Sweet 
Water  pass  and  Fort  Hall.  They  had  still  between  them  and  the 
valley  of  the  Sacramento  a  great  mass  of  mountains,  forming 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  here  commonly  known  as  the  Great  Cali- 
fornia mountain,  and  which  were  at  this  time  considered  as 
presenting  an  impracticable  barrier  to  wheeled-carriages. 
Various  considerations  had  suggested  to  them  a  division  of  the 
party  ;  and  a  greater  portion  of  the  camp,  including  the  wag- 
ons, with  the  mail  and  other  stores,  were  now  proceeding  undei 
the  guidance  of  Mr.  Joseph  Walker,  who  had  engaged  to  con- 
duct them,  by  a  long  sweep  to  the  southward,  around  what  is 
called  the  point  of  the  mountain  ;  and,  crossing  through  a  pass 
known  only  to  himself,  gain  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento  by 
the  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin.  It  was  a  long  and  a  hazardous 
journey  for  a  party  in  which  there  were  women  and  children. 
Sixty  days  was  the  shortest  period  of  time  in  which  they  could 
reach  the  point  of  the  mountain,  and  their  route  lay  through  a 
country  inhabited  by  wild  and  badly-disposed  Indians,  and 
very  poor  in  game  ;  but  the  leader  was  a  man  possessing  great 
and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Indians,  with  an  extraordinary 
firmness  and  decision  of  character.  In  the  mean  time,  Mr. 
Chiles  had  passed  down  the  Columbia  with  a  party  of  ten  or 
twelve  men,  with  the  intention  of  reaching  the  settlements  on 
the  Sacramento  by  a  more  direct  course,  which  indefinite  infor- 
mation from  hunters  had  indicated  in  the  direction  of  the  head- 
waters of  the  Riviere  aux  Malheurs ;  and  having  obtained 
there  a  reinforcement  of  animals,  and  a  supply  of  provisions, 
meet  the  wagons  before  they  should  have  reached  the  point  of 
the  mountain,  at  a  place  which  had  been  previously  agreed 
upon.  In  the  course  of  our  narrative,  we  shall  be  able  to  give 
you  some  information  of  the  fortunes  which  attended  the  move- 
ments of  these  adventurous  travelers. 

Having  discovered  our  error,  we  immediately  regained  the 
line  along  the  river,  which  the  road  quitted  about  noon,  and 
encamped  at  five  o'clock  on  the  stream  called  Raft  river,  (Ri- 
mere  aux  Cajeux,)  having  traveled  only  13  miles.  In  the  north, 
the  Salmon  River  mountains  are  visible  at  a  very  far  distance ; 


[SEPT. 

and  on  the  left,  the  ridge  in  which  Raft  river  heads  is  about  20 
miles  distant,  rocky,  and  tolerably  high.  Thermometer  at 
sunset  44°,  with  a  partially  clouded  sky,  and  a  sharp  wind 
from  the  S.W. 

27th. — It  was  now  no  longer  possible,  as  in  our  previous 
journey,  to  travel  regularly  every  day,  and  find  at  any  mo- 
ment a  convenient  place  for  repose  at  noon  or  a  camp  at  night ; 
but  the  halting-places  were  now  generally  fixed  along  the  road, 
by  the  nature  of  the  country,  at  places  where,  with  water, 
there  was  a  little  scanty  grass.  Since  leaving  the  American 
falls,  the  road  had  frequently  been  very  bad ;  the  many  short, 
steep  ascents,  exhausting  the  strength  of  our  worn-out  animals, 
requiring  always  at  such  places  the  assistance  of  the  men  to 
get  up  each  cart,  one  by  one ;  and  our  progress  with  twelve 
or  fourteen  wheeled-carriages,  though  light  and  made  for  the 
purpose,  in  such  a  rocky  country,  was  extremely  slow  ;  and  I 
again  determined  to  gain  time  by  a  division  of  the  camp.  Ac- 
cordingly, to-day,  the  parties  again  separated,  constituted  very 
much  as  before — Mr.  Fitzpatrick  remaining  in  charge  of  the 
heavier  baggage. 

The  morning  was  calm  and  clear,  with  a  white  frost,  and 
the  temperature  at  sunrise  24°. 

To-day  the  country  had  a  very  forbidding  appearance  ;  and, 
after  traveling  20  miles  over  a  slightly  undulating  plain,  we 
encamped  at  a  considerable  spring,  called  Swamp  creek,  ris- 
ing in  low  grounds  near  the  point  of  a  spur  from  the  moun- 
tain. Returning  with  a  small  party  in  a  starving  condition 
from  the  westward  12  or  14  years  since,  Carson  had  met  here 
three  or  four  buffalo  bulls,  two  of  which  were  killed.  They 
were  among  the  pioneers  which  had  made  the  experiment  of 
colonizing  in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia,  and  which  had  fail- 
ed, as  heretofore  stated.  At  sunset  the  thermometer  was  at 
46°,  and  the  evening  was  overcast,  with  a  cool  wind  from  the 
S.  E.,  and  to-night  we  had  only  sage  for  firewood.  Mingled 
with  the  artemisia  was  a  shrubby  and  thorny  chenopodiaceous 
plant. 

28th. — Thermometer  at  sunrise  40°.  The  wind  rose  early 
to  a  gale  from  the  west,  with  a  very  cold  driving  rain ;  and, 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  223 

after  an  uncomfortable  day's  ride  of  25  miles,  we  were  glad 
when  at  evening  we  found  a  sheltered  camp,  where  there  was 
an  abundance  of  wood,  at  some  elevated  rocky  islands  covered 
with  cedar,  near  the  commencement  of  another  long  canon  of 
the  river.  With  the  exception  of  a  short  detention  at  a  deep 
little  stream  called  Goose  creek,  and  some  occasional  rocky 
places,  we  had  to-day  a  very  good  road ;  but  the  country  has 
a  barren  appearance,  sandy,  and  densely  covered  with  the  ar- 
temisias  from  the  banks  of  the  river  to  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains. Here  I  remarked,  among  the  sage  bushes,  green  bunch- 
es of  what  is  called  the  second  growth  of  grass.  The  river 
to-day  has  had  a  smooth  appearance,  free  from  rapids,  with  a 
low  sandy  hill-slope  bordering  the  bottoms,  in  which  there  is  a 
little  good  «5oil.  Thermometer  at  sunset  45°,  blowing  a  gale, 
and  disagreeably  cold, 

29th. — The  thermometer  at  sunrise  36°,  with  a  bright  sun, 
and  appearance  of  finer  weather.  The  road  for  several  miles 
was  extremely  rocky,  and  consequently  bad  ;  but,  entering  a£ 
ter  this  a  sandy  country,  it  became  very  good,  with  no  other  in- 
terruption than  the  sage  bushes,  which  covered  the  river  plain 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and,  with  their  uniform  tint  of 
dark  gray,  gave  to  the  country  a  gloomy  and  sombre  appear, 
ance.  All  the  day  the  course  of  the  river  has  been  between 
walls  of  the  black  volcanic  rock,  a  dark  line  of  the  escarp, 
ment  on  the  opposite  side  pointing  out  its  course,  and  sweeping 
along  in  foam  at  places  where  the  mountains  which  border 
the  valley  present  always  on  the  left  two  ranges,  the  lower 
one  a  spur  of  the  higher ;  and,  on  the  opposite  side,  the 
Salmon  River  mountains  are  visible  at  a  great  distance.  Hav- 
ing made  24  miles,  we  encamped  about  five  o'clock  on  Rock 
creek — a  stream  having  considerable  water,  a  swift  current, 
and  wooded  with  willow. 

30th. — Thermometer  at  sunrise  28°.  In  its  progress  towards 
the  river,  this  creek  soon  enters  a  chasm  of  the  volcanic  rock, 
which  in  places  along  the  wall  presents  a  columnar  appearance  ; 
and  the  road  becomes  extremely  rocky  whenever  it  passes  near 
its  banks.  It  is  only  about  twenty  feet  wide  where  the  road 
crosses  it,  with  a  deep  bed,  and  steep  banks,  covered  with  rocky 


224  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [SEPT. 

fragments,  with  willows  and  a  little  grass  on  its  narrow  bottom. 
The  soil  appears  to  be  full  of  calcareous  matter,  with  which 
the  rocks  are  incrusted.  The  fragments  of  rock  which  had 
been  removed  by  the  emigrants  in  making  a  road,  where  we 
ascended  from  the  bed  of  this  creek,  were  whitened  with  lime ; 
and  during  the  afternoon's  march  I  remarked  in  the  soil  a  con- 
siderably quantity  of  calcareous  concretions.  Towards  even- 
ing the  sages  became  more  sparse,  and  the  clear  spaces  were 
occupied  by  tufts  of  green  grass.  The  river  still  continued  its 
course  through  a  trough,  or  open  canon  ;  and  towards  sunset 
we  followed  the  trail  of  several  wagons  which  had  turned  in 
towards  Snake  river,  and  encamped,  as  they  had  done,  on  the 
top  of  the  escarpment.  There  was  no  grass  here,  the  soil 
among  the  sage  being  entirely  naked  ;  but  there  is  occasionally 
a  little  bottom  along  the  river,  which  a  short  ravine  of  rocks, 
at  rare  intervals,  leaves  accessible ;  and  by  one  of  these  we 
drove  our  animals  down,  and  found  some  tolerably  good  grass 
bordering  the  water. 

Immediately  opposite  to  us,  a  subterranean  river  bursts  out 
directly  from  the  face  of  the  escarpment,  and  falls  in  white 
foam  to  the  river  below.  The  main  river  is  enclosed  with 
mural  precipices,  which  form  its  characteristic  feature  along  a 
great  portion  of  its  course.  A  melancholy  and  strange-looking 
country — one  of  fracture,  and  violence,  and  fire. 

We  had  brought  with  us,  when  we  separated  from  the  camp, 
a  large  gaunt  ox,  in  appearance  very  poor ;  but,  being  killed 
to-night,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  people,  he  was  found  to  be 
remarkably  fat.  As  usual  at  such  occurrences,  the  evening 
was  devoted  to  gayety  and  feasting ;  abundant  fare  now  made 
an  epoch  among  us ;  and  in  this  laborious  life,  in  such  a  coun- 
try as  this,  our  men  had  but  little  else  to  enjoy.  The  temper- 
ature at  sunset  was  65°,  with  a  clear  sky  and  a  very  high 
wind.  By  the  observation  of  the  evening,  the  encampment 
was  in  longitude  114°  25'  04",  and  in  latitude  42°  38'  44". 


1843.]       CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.         225 


OCTOBER. 

1st. — The  morning  clear,  with  wind  from  the  west,  and  the 
thermometer  at  55°.  We  descended  to  the  bottoms,  taking 
with  us  the  boat,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  fall  in  the  op- 
posite cliffs  ;  and  while  it  was  being  filled  with  air,  we  occu- 
pied ourselves  in  measuring  the  river,  which  is  1,786  feet  in 
breadth,  with  banks  200  feet  high.  We  were  surprised,  on 
our  arrival  at  the  opposite  side,  to  find  a  beautiful  basin  of 
clear  water,  formed  by  the  falling  river,  around  which  the 
rocks  were  whitened  by  some  saline  incrustation.  Here  the 
Indians  had  constructed  wicker  dams,  although  I  was  informed 
that  the  salmon  do  not  ascend  the  river  so  far ;  and  its  charac- 
ter below  would  apparently  render  it  impracticable. 

The  ascent  of  the  steep  hill-side  was  rendered  a  little  diffi- 
cult by  a  dense  growth  of  shrubs  and  fields  of  cane  ;  and  there 
were  frequent  hidden  crevices  among  the  rocks,  where  the 
water  was  heard  rushing  below  ;  but  we  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing the  main  stream,  which,  issuing  from  between  strata  of  the 
trap-rock  in  two  principal  branches,  produced  almost  imme- 
diately a  torrent,  22  feet  wide,  and  white  with  foam.  It  is  a 
picturesque  spot  of  singular  beauty,  overshadowed  by  bushes, 
from  under  which  the  torrent  glances,  tumbling  into  the  white 
basin  below,  where  the  clear  water  contrasted  beautifully  with 
the  muddy  stream  of  the  river.  Its  outlet  was  covered  with  a 
rank  growth  of  canes,  and  a  variety  of  unusual  plants,  and 
nettles,  (urtica  canabina,)  which,  before  they  were  noticed,  had 
set  our  hands  and  arms  on  fire.  The  temperature  of  the  spring 
was  58°,  while  that  of  the  river  was  51°.  The  perpendicular 
height  of  the  place  at  which  this  stream  issues  is  45  feet  above 
the  river,  and  162  feet  below  the  summit  of  the  precipice — 
making  nearly  200  feet  for  the  height  of  the  wall.  On  the 
hill-side  here  was  obtained  a  specimen  consisting  principally 
of  fragments  of  the  shells  of  small  Crustacea,  and  which  was 
probably  formed  by  deposition  from  these  springs,  proceeding 
from  some  lake  or  river  in  the  highlands  above. 

We  resumed  our  journey  at  noon,  the  day  being  hot  and 
10* 


226  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

bright ;  and,  after  a  march  of  17  miles,  encamped  at  sunset  on 
the  river,  near  several  lodges  of  Snake  Indians. 

Our  encampment  was  about  one  mile  below  the  Fishing 
falls — a  series  of  cataracts  with  very  inclined  planes,  which 
are  probably  so  named  because  they  form  a  barrier  to  the  as- 
cent of  the  salmon ;  and  the  great  fisheries,  from  which  the 
inhabitants  of  this  barren  region  almost  entirely  derive  a  sub- 
sistence, commence  at  this  place.  These  appeared  to  be  un- 
usually gay  savages,  fond  of  loud  laughter ;  and,  in  their  ap- 
parent good  nature  and  merry  character,  struck  me  as  being 
entirely  different  from  the  Indians  we  had  been  accustomed  to 
see.  From  several  who  visited  our  camp  in  the  evening,  we 
purchased,  in  exchange  for  goods,  dried  salmon.  At  this  season 
they  are  not  very  fat,  but  we  were  easily  pleased.  The  In- 
dians made  us  comprehend,  that  when  the  salmon  came  up  the 
river  in  the  spring,  they  are  so  abundant  that  they  merely 
throw  in  their  spears  at  random,  certain  of  bringing  out  a  fish. 

These  poor  people  are  but  slightly  provided  with  winter 
clothing ;  there  is  but  little  game  to  furnish  skins  for  the  pur- 
pose ;  and  of  a  little  animal  which  seemed  to  be  the  most  numer- 
ous, it  required  20  skins  to  make  a  covering  to  the  knees.  But 
they  are  still  a  joyous,  talkative  race,  who  grow  fat  and  be- 
come poor  with  the  salmon,  which  at  least  never  fail  them — 
the  dried  being  used  in  the  absence  of  the  fresh.  We  are  en- 
camped immediately  on  the  river  bank,  and  with  the  salmon 
jumping  up  out  of  the  water,  and  Indians  paddling  about  in 
boats  made  of  rushes,  or  laughing  around  the  fires,  the  camp 
to-night  has  quite  a  lively  appearance. 

The  river  at  this  place  is  more  open  than  for  some  distance 
above,  and,  for  the  time,  the  black  precipices  have  disappear- 
ed, and  no  calcareous  matter  is  visible  in  the  soil.  The  ther- 
mometer at  sunset  74°,  clear  and  calm. 

2d. — The  sunrise  temperature  was  48°  ;  the  weather  clear 
and  calm.  Shortly  after  leaving  the  encampment,  we  crossed 
a  stream  of  clear  water,  with  a  variable  breadth  of  10  to  25 
yards,  broken  by  rapids,  and  lightly  wooded  with  willow,  and 
having  a  little  grass  on  its  small  bottom-land.  The  barren- 
ness of  the  country  is  in  fine  contrast  to-day  with  the  mingled 


1843.]  CAPT.  /REMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  227 

beauty  ancr  grandeur  of  the  river,  which  is  mo^e  open  than 
hitherto,  with  a  constant  succession  of  falls  a-id  rapids.  Over 
the  edge  of  the  black  cliffs,  and  out  from  their  faces,  are  fall- 
ing numberless  streams  and  springs ;  and  all  the  line  of  the 
river  is  in  motion  with  the  play  of  the  water.  In  about  seven 
miles  we  reached  the  most  beautiful  and  picturesque  fall  I 
had  seen  on  the  river. 

On  the  opposite  side,  the  vertical  fall  is  perhaps  18  feet 
high ;  and  nearer,  the  sheet  of  foaming  water  is  divided  and 
broken  into  cataracts,  where  several  little  islands  on  the  brink 
and  in  the  river  above,  give  it  much  picturesque  beauty,  and 
make  it  one  of  those  places  the  traveler  turns  again  and  again 
to  fix  in  his  memory.  There  were  several  lodges  of  Indians 
here,  from  whom  we  traded  salmon.  Below  this  place  the 
river  makes  a  remarkable  bend ;  and  the  road,  ascending  the 
ridge,  gave  us  a  fine  view  of  the  river  below,  intersected  at 
many  places  by  numerous  fish  dams.  In  the  north,  about 
50  miles  distant,  were  some  high  snowy  peaks  of  the  Salmon 
River  mountains ;  and  in  the  northeast,  the  last  peak  of  the 
range  was  visible  at  the  distance  of  perhaps  100  miles  or  more. 
The  river  hills  consist  of  very  broken  masses  of  sand,  covered 
everywhere  with  the  same  interminable  fields  of  sage,  and  oc- 
casionally the  road  is  very  heavy.  We  now  frequently  saw 
Indians,  who  were  strung  along  the  river  at  every  little  rapid 
where  fish  are  to  be  caught,  and  the  cry  haggat,  haggai,  (fish,) 
was  constantly  heard  whenever  we  passed  near  their  huts,  or 
met  them  in  the  road.  Very  many  of  them  were  oddly  and 
partially  dressed  in  overcoat,  shirt,  waistcoat,  or  pantaloons, 
or  whatever  article  of  clothing  they  had  been  able  to  procure 
in  trade  from  the  emigrants ;  for  we  had  now  entirely  quitted 
the  country  where  hawks'  bells,  beads,  and  vermilion  were 
the  current  coin,  and  found  that  here  only  useful  articles,  and 
chiefly  clothing,  were  in  great  request.  These,  however,  are 
eagerly  sought  after ;  and  for  a  few  trifling  pieces  of  clothing, 
travelers  may  procure  food  sufficient  to  carry  them  to  the 
Columbia. 

We  made  a  long  stretch  across  the  upper  plain,  and  en- 
camped on  the  bluff,  where  the  grass  was  very  green  and 


228  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Oci. 

good,  the  soil  of  the  upper  plains  containing  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  calcareous  matter.  This  green  freshness  of  the 
grass  was  very  remarkable  for  the  season  of  the  year.  Again 
we  heard  the  roar  of  the  fall  in  the  river  below,  where  the 
water  in  an  unbroken  volume  goes  over  a  descent  of  several 
feet.  The  night  is  clear,  and  the  weather  continues  very  warm 
and  pleasant,  with  a  sunset  temperature  of  70°. 

3d. — The  morning  was  pleasant,  with  a  temperature  at  sun- 
rise of  42°.  The  road  was  broken  by  ravines  among  the 
hills,  and  in  one  of  these,  which  made  the  bed  of  a  dry  creek, 
I  found  a  fragmentary  stratum,  or  brecciated  conglomerate, 
consisting  of  flinty  slate  pebbles,  with  fragments  of  limestone 
containing  fossil  shells. 

On  the  left,  the  mountains  are  visible  at  the  distance  of  20 
or  30  miles,  appearing  smooth  and  rather  low ;  but  at  inter- 
vals higher  peaks  look  out  from  beyond,  and  indicate  that  the 
main  ridge,  which  we  are  leaving  with  the  course  of  the  river, 
and  which  forms  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Great  Basin, 
still  maintains  its  elevation.  About  two  o'clock  we  arrived  at 
the  ford  where  the  road  crosses  to  the  right  bank  of  Snake 
river.  An  Indian  was  hired  to  conduct  us  through  the  ford, 
which  proved  impracticable  for  us,  the  water  sweeping  away 
the  howitzer  and  nearly  drowning  the  mules,  which  we  were 
obliged  to  extricate  by  cutting  them  out  of  the  harness.  The 
river  here  is  expanded  into  a  little  bay,  in  which  there  are  two 
islands,  across  which  is  the  road  of  the  ford ;  and  the  emi- 
grants had  passed  by  placing  two  of  their  heavy  wagons  abreast 
of  each  other,  so  as  to  oppose  a  considerable  mass  against  the 
body  of  water.  The  Indians  informed  us  that  one  of  the  men, 
in  attempting  to  turn  some  cattle  which  had  taken  a  wrong  di- 
rection, was  carried  off  by  the  current  and  drowned.  Since 
their  passage,  the  water  had  risen  considerably ;  but,  fortu- 
nately, we  had  a  resource  in  a  boat,  which  was  filled  with  air 
and  launched ;  and  at  seven  o'clock  we  were  safely  encamped 
on  the  opposite  bank,  the  animals  swimming  across,  and  the 
carriage,  howitzer,  and  baggage  of  the  camp,  being  carried 
over  in  the  boat.  At  the  place  where  we  crossed,  above  the 
islands,  the  river  had  narrowed  to  a  breadth  of  1,049  feet  by 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  229 

measurement,  the  greater  portion  of  which  was  from  six  to 
eight  feet  deep.  We  were  obliged  to  make  our  camp  where 
we  landed,  among  the  Indian  lodges,  which  are  semicircular 
huts  made  of  willow,  thatched  over  with  straw,  and  open  to  the 
sunny  south.  By  observation,  the  latitude  of  our  encampment 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  was  42°  55'  58" ;  chronometric 
longitude  115°  04'  46",  and  the  traveled  distance  from  Forl 
Hall  208  miles. 

4th. — Calm,  pleasant  day,  with  the  thermometer  at  sunrise 
at  47°.  Leaving  the  river  at  a  considerable  distance  to  the 
left,  and  following  up  the  bed  of  a  rocky  creek,  with  oc- 
casional holes  of  water,  in  about  six  miles  we  ascended,  by  a 
long  and  rather  steep  hill,  to  a  plain  600  feet  above  the  river, 
over  which  we  continued  to  travel  during  the  day,  having  a 
broken  ridge  2,000  or  3,000  feet  high  on  the  right.  The  plain 
terminates,  where  we  ascended,  in  an  escarpment  of  vesicular 
trap- rock,  which  supplies  the  fragments  of  the  creek  below. 
The  sky  clouded  over  with  a  strong  wind  from  the  northwest, 
with  a  few  drops  of  rain  and  occasional  sunlight,  threatening 
a  change. 

Artemisia  still  covers  the  plain,  but  Purshia  tridentata 
makes  its  appearance  here  on  the  hill-sides  and  on  bottoms  of 
the  creeks — quite  a  tree  in  size,  larger  than  the  artemisia. 
We  crossed  several  hollows  with  a  little  water  in  them,  and 
improved  grass ;  and,  turning  off  from  the  road  in  the  after- 
noon in  search  of  water,  traveled  about  three  miles  up  the  bed 
of  a  willow  creek,  towards  the  mountain,  and  found  a  good 
encampment,  with  wood  and  grass,  and  little  ponds  of  water 
in  the  bed  of  the  creek ;  which  must  be  of  more  importance 
at  other  seasons,  as  we  found  there  several  old  fixtures  for  fish- 
ing. There  were  many  holes  on  the  creek  prairie,  which  had 
been  made  by  the  Diggers  in  search  of  roots. 

Wind  increased  to  a  violent  galo  from  the  N.  W.,  with  a 
temperature  at  sunset  of  57°. 

5th. — The  morning  was  calm  and  clear,  and  at  sunrise  the 
thermometer  was  at  32°.  The  road  to-day  was  occasionally 
extremely  rocky,  with  hard  volcanic  fragments,  and  our  travel- 
ing very  slow.  In  about  nine  miles  the  road  brought  us  to  a 


230  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

group  of  smoking  hot  springs,  with  a  temperature  of  164°. 
There  were  a  few  helianthi  in  bloom,  with  some  other  low 
plants,  and  the  place  was  green  round  about ;  the  ground  warm 
and  the  air  pleasant,  with  a  summer  atmosphere  that  was  very 
grateful  in  a  day  of  high  and  cold,  searching  wind.  The 
rocks  were  covered  with  a  white  and  red  incrustation ;  and 
the  water  has  on  the  tongue  the  same  unpleasant  effect  as  that 
of  the  Basin  spring  on  Bear  river.  They  form  several  branch- 
es, and  bubble  up  with  force  enough  to  raise  the  small  peb- 
bles several  inches.  The  following  is  an  analysis  of  the  deposits 
with  which  the  rocks  are  incrusted  : 

Silica 72-55 

Carbonate  of  lime 14-60 

Carbonate  of  magnesia        -_.___  1-20 

Oxide  of  iron 4-65 

Alumina 0-70 

Chloride  of  sodium,  &c.    \ 

Sulphate  of  soda                            MO 

Sulphate  of  lime,  &c.       y 

Organic  vegetable  matter  )  Z'Vn 

Water  and  loss  S 

100-00 

These  springs  are  near  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  (a  dark  and 
rugged-looking  mountain,)  in  which  some  of  the  nearer  rocks 
have  a  reddish  appearance,  and  probably  consist  of  a  reddish- 
brown  trap,  fragments  of  which  were  scattered  along  the  road 
after  leaving  the  spring.  The  road  was  now  about  to  cross 
the  point  of  this  mountain,  which  we  judged  to  be  a  spur  from 
the  Salmon  River  range.  We  crossed  a  small  creek,  and  en- 
camped about  sunset  on  a  stream,  which  is  probably  Lake 
river.  This  is  a  small  stream,  some  five  or  six  feet  broad, 
with  a  swift  current,  timbered  principally  with  willows  and 
some  few  cottonwoods.  Along  the  banks  were  canes,  rose- 
bushes, and  clematis,  with  Purshia  tridentata  and  artemisias 
on  the  upper  bottom.  The  sombre  appearance  of  the  country 
is  somewhat  relieved  in  coming  unexpectedly  from  the  dark 
rocks  upon  these  green  and  wooded  water-courses,  sunk  in 
chasms ;  and,  in  the  spring,  the  contrasted  effect  must  make 
them  beautiful. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  231 

The  thermometer  at  sunset  47°,  and  the  night  threatening 
snow. 

6th. — The  morning  warm,  the  thermometer  46°  at  sunrise, 
and  sky  entirely  clouded.  After  traveling  about  three  miles 
over  an  extremely  rocky  road,  the  volcanic  fragments  began 
to  disappear  J  and,  entering  among  the  hills  at  the  point  of  the 
mountain,  we  found  ourselves  suddenly  in  a  granite  country. 
Here,  the  character  of  the  vegetation  was  very  much  changed ; 
the  artemisia  disappeared  almost  entirely,  showing  only  at  in- 
tervals towards  the  close  of  the  day,  and  was  replaced  by 
Purshia  tridentata,  with  flowering  shrubs,  and  small  fields  of 
dieteria  divaricata,  which  gave  bloom  and  gayety  to  the  hills. 
These  were  everywhere  covered  with  a  fresh  and  green  short 
grass,  like  that  of  the  early  spring.  This  is  the  fall  or  second 
growth,  the  dried  grass  having  been  burnt  off  by  the  Indians ; 
and  wherever  the  fire  has  passed,  the  bright,  green  color  is 
universal.  The  soil  among  the  hills  is  altogether  different 
from  that  of  the  river  plain,  being  in  many  places  black,  in 
others  sandy  and  gravelly,  but  of  a  firm  and  good  character, 
appearing  to  result  from  the  decomposition  of  the  granite  rocks, 
which  is  proceeding  rapidly. 

In  quitting  for  a  time  the  artemisia  (sage)  through  which  we 
had  been  so  long  voyaging,  and  the  sombre  appearance  of 
which  is  so  discouraging,  I  have  to  remark,  that  I  have  been 
informed  that  in  Mexico  wheat  is  grown  upon  the  ground  which 
produces  this  shrub ;  which,  if  true,  relieves  the  soil  from  the 
character  of  sterility  imputed  to  it.  Be  this  as  it  may,  there 
is  no  dispute  about  the  grass,  which  is  almost  universal  on  the 
hills  and  mountains,  and  always  nutritious,  even  in  its  dry 
state.  We  passed  on  the  way  masses  of  granite  on  the  slope 
of  the  spur,  which  was  very  much  weathered  and  abraded. 
This  is  a  white  feldspathic  granite,  with  small  scales  of  black 
mica ;  smoky  quartz  and  garnets  appear  to  constitute  this  por- 
tion of  the  mountain. 

The  road  at  noon  reached  a  broken  ridge,  on  which  were 
scattered  many  boulders  or  blocks  of  granite ;  and,  passing 
very  small  streams,  where,  with  a  little  more  than  the  usual 
timber,  was  sometimes  gathered  a  little  wilderness  of  plants, 


232  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Ocr. 

we  encamped  on  a  small  stream,  after  a  march  of  22  miles,  in 
company  with  a  few  Indians.  Temperature  at  sunset  51° ; 
and  the  night  was  partially  clear,  with  a  few  stars  visible 
through  drifting  white  clouds.  The  Indians  made  an  un- 
successful attempt  to  steal  a  few  horses  from  us — a  thing  of 
course  with  them,  and  to  prevent  which  the  traveler  is  on  per- 
petual watch. 

7th. — The  day  was  bright,  clear,  pleasant,  with  a  tempera- 
ture of  45° ;  and  we  breakfasted  at  sunrise,  the  birds  singing 
in  the  trees  as  merrily  as  if  we  were  in  the  midst  of  summer. 
On  the  upper  edge  of  the  hills  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek, 
the  black  volcanic  rock  appears  ;  and  ascending  these,  the 
road  passed  through  a  basin,  around  which  the  hills  swept  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  an  old  crater. 
Here  were  strata  and  broken  beds  of  black  scoriated  rock,  and 
hills  composed  of  the  same,  on  the  summit  of  one  of  which 
there  was  an  opening  resembling  a  rent.  We  traveled  to-day 
through  a  country  resembling  that  of  yesterday,  where,  al- 
though the  surface  was  hilly,  the  road  was  good,  being  firm, 
and  entirely  free  from  rocks  and  artemisia.  To  our  left,  be- 
low, was  the  great  sage  plain  ;  and  on  the  right  were  the  near 
mountains,  which  presented  a  smoothly-broken  character,  or 
rather  a  surface  waved  into  numberless  hills.  The  road  was 
occasionally  enlivened  by  meeting  Indians,  and  the  day  was 
extremely  beautiful  and  pleasant ;  and  we  were  pleased  to  be 
free  from  the  sage,  even  for  a  day.  When  we  had  traveled 
about  eight  miles,  we  were  nearly  opposite  to  the  highest  por- 
tion of  the  mountains  on  the  left  side  of  the  Smoke  River  val- 
ley ;  and,  continuing  on  a  few  miles  beyond,  we  came  sud- 
denly in  sight  of  the  broad  green  line  of  the  valley  of  the 
Rivitre  Boiste,  (wooded  river,)  black  near  the  gorge  where  it 
debouches  into  the  plains,  with  high  precipices  of  basalt,  be- 
tween walls  of  which  it  passes,  on  emerging  from  the  moun- 
tains. Following  with  the  eye  its  upward  course,  it  appears 
to  be  shut  in  among  lofty  mountains,  confining  its  valley  in.  a 
very  rugged  country. 

Descending  the  hills,  after  traveling  a  few  miles  along  the 
high  plain,  the  road  brought  us  down  upon  the  bottoms  of  the 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  233 

river,  which  is  a  beautiful,  rapid  stream,  with  clear  mountain 
water ;  and,  as  the  name  indicates,  well  wooded  with  some  va- 
rieties of  timber — among  which  are  handsome  cottonwoods. 
Such  a  stream  had  become  quite  a  novelty  in  this  country,  and 
we  were  delighted  this  afternoon  to  make  a  pleasant  camp  under 
fine  old  trees  again.  There  were  several  Indian  encampments 
scattered  along  the  river ;  and  a  number  of  their  inhabitants, 
in  the  course  of  the  evening,  came  to  the  camp  on  horseback 
with  dried  and  fresh  fish,  to  trade.  The  evening  was  clear, 
and  the  temperature  at  sunset  57°. 

At  the  time  of  the  first  occupation  of  this  region  by  parties 
engaged  in  the  fur-trade,  a  small  party  of  men,  under  the  com- 
mand of Reid,  constituting  all  the  garrison  of  a  small  fort 

on  this  river,  were  surprised  and  massacred  by  the  Indians  ; 
and  to  this  event  the  stream  owes  its  occasional  name  of  Reid's 
river.  On  the  8th  we  traveled  about  26  miles,  the  ridge  on 
the  right  having  scattered  .pines  on  the  upper  parts ;  and,  con- 
tinuing  the  next  day  our  road  along  the  river  bottom,  after  a 
day's  travel  of  24  miles,  we  encamped  in  the  evening  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  a  mile  above  the  mouth;  and  early  the 
next  morning  arrived  at  Fort  Boise.  This  is  a  simple  dwelling- 
house  on  the  right  bank  of  Snake  river,  about  a  mile  below  the 
mouth  of  Riviere  Boisee  ;  and  on  our  arrival  we  were  re- 
ceived with  an  agreeable  hospitality  by  Mr.  Payette,  an  officer 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  charge  of  the  fort,  all  of  whose 
garrison  consisted  in  a  Canadian  engagt. 

Here  the  road  recrosses  the  river,  which  is  broad  and  deep  ; 
but,  with  our  good  boat,  aided  by  two  canoes,  which  were 
found  at  the  place,  the  camp  was  very  soon  transferred  to  the 
left  bank.  Here  we  found  ourselves  again  surrounded  by  the 
sage  ;  artemisia  tridentata,  and  the  different  shrubs  which  du- 
ring our  voyage  had  always  made  their  appearance  abundantly 
on  saline  soils,  being  here  the  prevailing  and  almost  the  only 
plants.  Among  them  the  surface  was  covered  with  the  usual 
saline  efflorescences,  which  here  consist  almost  entirely  of  car- 
bonate of  soda,  with  a  small  portion  of  chloride  of  sodium.  Mr. 
Payette  had  made  but  slight  attempts  at  cultivation,  his  efforts 
being  limited  to  raising  a  few  vegetables,  in  which  he  succeed- 


234  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Ocx. 

ed  tolerably  well ;  the  post  being  principally  supported  by 
salmon.  He  was  very  hospitable  and  kind  to  us,  and  we  made 
a  sensible  impression  upon  all  his  comestibles ;  but  our  princi- 
pal inroad  was  into  the  dairy,  which  was  abundantly  supplied, 
stock  appearing  to  thrive  extremely  well ;  and  we  had  an  un- 
usual luxury  in  a  present  of  fresh  butter,  which  was,  however, 
by  no  means  equal  to  that  of  Fort  Hall — probably  from  some 
accidental  cause.  During  the  day  we  remained  here,  there 
were  considerable  numbers  of  miserable,  half-naked  Indians 
around  the  fort,  who  had  arrived  from  the  neighboring  moun- 
tains. During  the  summer,  the  only  subsistence  of  these  peo- 
ple is  derived  from  the  salmon,  of  which  they  are  not  provident 
enough  to  lay  up  a  sufficient  store  for  the  winter,  during  which 
many  of  them  die  from  absolute  starvation. 

Many  little  accounts  and  scattered  histories,  together  with 
an  acquaintance  which  I  gradually  acquired  of  their  modes  of 
life,  had  left  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  vast  region  pic- 
tured in  my  mind  as  a  race  of  people  whose  great  and  constant 
occupation  was  the  means  of  procuring  a  subsistence  ;  and 
though  want  of  space  and  other  reasons  will  prevent  me  from 
detailing  the  many  incidents  which  made  this  familiar  to  me, 
this  great  feature  among  the  characteristics  of  the  country  will 
gradually  be  forced  upon  your  mind. 

Pointing  to  the  group  of  Indians  who  had  just  arrived  from 
the  mountains  on  the  left  side  of  the  valley,  and  who  were  re- 
garding our  usual  appliances  of  civilization  with  an  air  of  be- 
wildered curiosity,  Mr.  Payette  informed  me  that,  every  year 
since  his  arrival  at  this  post,  he  had  unsuccessfully  endeavored 
to  induce  these  people  to  lay  up  a  store  of  salmon  for  their 
winter  provision.  While  the  summer  weather  and  the  salmon 
lasted,  they  lived  contentedly  and  happily,  scattered  along  the 
different  streams  where  fish  are  to  be  found ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  winter  snows  began  to  fall,  little  smokes  would  be  seen 
rising  among  the  mountains,  where  they  would  be  found  in 
miserable  groups,  starving  out  the  winter ;  and  sometimes,  ac- 
cording to  the  general  belief,  reduced  to  the  horror  of  canni- 
balism— the  strong,  of  course,  preying  on  the  weak.  Certain 
it  is  they  are  driven  to  any  extremity  for  food,  and  eat  every 


1S43.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  235 

insect,  and  every  creeping  thing,  however  loathsome  and  re- 
pulsive. Snails,  lizards,  ants — all  are  devoured  with  the  readi- 
ness and  greediness  of  mere  animals. 

In  common  with  all  the  other  Indians  we  had  encountered 
since  reaching  the  Pacific  waters,  these  people  use  the  Shosho- 
nee  or  Snake  language,  which  you  will  have  occasion  to  re- 
mark, in  the  course  of  the  narrative,  is  the  universal  language 
over  a  very  extensive  region. 

On  the  evening  of  the  10th,  I  obtained,  with  the  usual  obser- 
vations, a  very  excellent  emersion  of  the  first  satellite,  agree- 
ing very  nearly  with  the  chronometer.  From  these  observa- 
tions, the  longitude  of  the  fort  is  116°  47'  00",  latitude  43°  49' 
22",  and  elevation  above  the  sea  2,100  feet. 

Sitting  by  the  fire  on  the  river  bank,  and  waiting  for  the 
immersion  of.  the  satellite,  which  did  not  take  place  until  after 
midnight,  we  heard  the  monotonous  song  of  the  Indians,  with 
which  they  accompany  a  certain  game  of  which  they  are  very 
fond.  Of  the  poetry  we  could  not  judge,  but  the  music  was 
miserable. 

llth. — The  morning  was  clear,  with  a  light  breeze  from 
the  east,  and  a  temperature  at  sunrise  of  33°.  A  part  of  a 
bullock  purchased  at  the  fort,  together  with  the  boat,  to  assist 
trim  in  crossing,  was  left  here  for  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  and  at  1 1 
o'clock  we  resumed  our  journey ;  and  directly  leaving  the 
river,  and  crossing  the  artemisia  plain,  in  several  ascents  we 
reached  the  foot  of  a  ridge,  where  the  road  entered  a  dry  sandy 
fiollow,  up  which  it  continued  to  the  head ;  and,  crossing  a 
dividing  ridge,  entered  a  similar  one.  We  met  here  two  poor 
emigrants,  (Irishmen,)  who  had  lost  their  horses  two  days 
since — probably  stolen  by  the  Indians  ;  and  were  returning  to 
the  fort,  in  hopes  to  hear  something  of  them  there.  They  had 
recently  had  nothing  to  eat ;  and  I  halted  to  unpack  an  ani- 
mal, and  gave  them  meat  for  their  dinner.  In  this  hollow,  the 
artemisia  is  partially  displaced  on  the  hill-sides  by  grass; 
and  descending  it  —  miles,  about  sunset  we  reached  the 
Rivitre  aux  Malheurs,  (the  unfortunate  or  unlucky  river,) — a 
considerable  stream,  with  an  average  breadth  of  50  feet,  and, 
at  this  time,  18  inches'  depth  of  water. 


236  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

The  bottom  lands  were  generally  one  and  a  half  mile  broad, 
covered  principally  with  long  dry  grass ;  and  we  had  difficulty 
to  find  sufficient  good  grass  for  the  camp.  With  the  exception 
of  a  bad  place  of  a  few  hundred  yards  long,  which  occurred  in 
rounding  a  point  of  hill  to  reach  the  ford  of  the  river,  the  road 
during  the  day  had  been  very  good. 

12th. — The  morning  was  clear  and  calm,  and  the  thermom- 
eter at  sunrise  23°.  My  attention  was  attracted  by  a  smoke 
on  the  right  side  of  the  river,  a  little  below  the  ford,  where  I 
found,  on  the  low  banks  near  the  water,  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  hot  springs,  in  which  the  temperature  of  the  water  was 
193°.  The  ground,  which  was  too  hot  for  the  naked  foot,  was 
covered  above  and  below  the  springs  with  an  incrustation  of 
common  salt,  very  white  and  good,  and  fine-grained. 

Leading  for  five  miles  up  a  broad  dry  branch  of  the  Malheurs 
river,  the  road  entered  a  sandy  hollow,  where  the  surface  was 
rendered  firm  by  the  admixture  of  other  rock ;  being  good  and 
level  until  arriving  near  the  head  of  the  ravine,  where  it  be- 
came a  little  rocky,  and  we  met  with  a  number  of  sharp  as- 
cents over  an  undulating  surface.  Crossing  here  a  dividing 
ridge,  it  becomes  an  excellent  road  of  gradual  descent  down  a 
very  marked  hollow ;  in  which,  after  ten  miles,  willows  began 
to  appear  in  the  dry  bed  of  a  head  of  the  Riviere  aux  Bouleaux, 
(Birch  river;)  and  descending  seven  miles,  we  found,  at  its 
junction  with  another  branch,  a  little  water,  not  very  good  or 
abundant,  but  sufficient,  in  case  of  necessity,  for  a  camp. 
Crossing  Birch  river,  we  continued  for  about  four  miles  across 
a  point  of  hill ;  the  country  on  the  left  being  entirely  moun- 
tainous, with  no  level  spot  to  be  seen ;  whence  we  descended 
to  Snake  river — here  a  fine-looking  stream,  with  a  large  body 
of  water  and  a  smooth  current ;  although  we  hear  the  roar, 
and  see  below  us  the  commencement  of  rapids,  where  it  enters 
among  the  hills.  It  forms  here  a  deep  bay,  with  a  low  sand 
island  in  the  midst ;  and  its  course  among  the  mountains  is 
agreeably  exchanged  for  the  black  volcanic  rock.  The 
weather  during  the  day  had  been  very  bright  and  extremely 
hot ;  but,  as  usual,  so  soon  as  the  sun  went  down,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  put  on  overcoats. 


1843. J  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  237 

1  obtained  this  evening  an  observation  of  an  emersion  of  the 
first  satellite,  and  our  observations  of  the  evening  place  this 
encampment  in  latitude  44°  IT  36",  and  longitude  116°  56' 
45X/,  which  is  the  mean  of  the  results  from  the  satellite  and 
•chronometer.  The  elevation  above  the  sea  is  1,880  feet.  At 
this  encampment,  the  grass  is  scanty  and  poor. 

13th. — The  morning  was  bright,  with  the  temperature  at 
sunrise  28°.  The  horses  had  strayed  off  during  the  night, 
probably  in  search  of  grass ;  and,  after  a  considerable  delay, 
we  had  succeeded  in  finding  all  but  two,  when,  about  nine 
o'clock,  we  heard  the  sound  of  an  Indian  song  and  drum  ap- 
proaching ;  and  shortly  after,  three  Cayuse  Indians  appeared 
in  sight,  bringing  with  them  the  two  animals.  They  belonged 
to  a  party  which  had  been  on  a  buffalo-hunt  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  were  hurrying  home  in  ad- 
vance. We  presented  them  with  some  tobacco  and  other 
things,  with  which  they  appeared  well  satisfied,  and,  moderating 
their  pace,  traveled  in  company  with  us. 

We  were  now  about  to  leave  the  valley  of  the  great  southern 
branch  of  the  Columbia  river,  to  which  the  absence  of  timber, 
and  the  scarcity  of  water,  give  the  appearance  of  a  desert,  to 
enter  a  mountainous  region,  where  the  soil  is  good,  and  in 
which  the  face  of  the  country  is  covered  with  nutritious  grasses 
and  dense  forest — land  embracing  many  varieties  of  trees  pe- 
culiar to  the  country,  and  on  which  the  timber  exhibits  a  luxu- 
riance of  growth  unknown  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  continent 
and  to  Europe.  This  mountainous  region  connects  itself  in 
the  southward  and  westward  with  the  elevated  country  be- 
longing to  the  Cascade  or  California  range ;  and,  as  will  be 
remarked  in  the  course  of  the  narrative,  forms  the  eastern 
limit  of  the  fertile  and  timbered  lands  along  the  desert  and 
mountainous  region  included  within  the  Great  Basin — a  term 
which  I  apply  to  the  intermediate  region  between  the  Rocky 
mountains  and  the  next  range,  containing  many  lakes,  with 
their  own  system  of  rivers  and  creeks,  (of  which  the  Great 
Salt  is  the  principal,)  and  which  have  no  connection  with  the 
ocean,  or  the  great  rivers  which  flow  into  it.  This  Great  Basin 
is  yet  to  be  adequately  explored.  And  here,  on  quitting  the 


238  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

banks  of  a  sterile  river,  to  enter  on  arable  mountains,  the  re- 
mark may  be  made,  that,  on  this  western  slope  of  our  continent, 
the  usual  order  or  distribution  of  good  and  bad  soil  is  often  re- 
versed ;  the  river  and  creek  bottoms  being  often  sterile,  and 
darkened  with  the  gloomy  and  barren  artemisia ;  while  the 
mountain  is  often  fertile,  and  covered  with  rich  grass,  pleasant 
to  the  eye,  and  good  for  flocks  and  herds. 

Leaving  entirely  the  Snake  river,  which  is  said  henceforth 
to  pursue  its  way  through  canons,  amidst  rocky  and  imprac 
ticable  mountains,  where  there  is  no  possibility  of  traveling 
with  animals,  we  ascended  a  long  and  steep  hill ;  and  crossing 
he  dividing  ridge,  came  down  into  the  valley  of  Burnt  river, 
which  here  looks  like  a  hole  among  the  hills.  The  average 
nreadth  of  the  stream  here  is  thirty  feet ;  it  is  well  fringed 
with  the  usual  small  timber ;  and  the  soil  in  the  bottoms  is 
good,  with  better  grass  than  we  had  lately  been  accustomed  to 
see. 

We  now  traveled  through  a  very  mountainous  country ;  the 
stream  running  rather  in  a  ravine  than  a  valley,  and  the  road 
is  decidedly  bad  and  dangerous  for  single  wagons,  frequently 
crossing  the  stream  where  the  water  is  sometimes  deep ;  and 
all  the  day  the  animals  were  fatigued  in  climbing  up  and  de- 
scending a  succession  of  steep  ascents,  to  avoid  the  precipitous 
hill-sides ;  and  the  common  trail,  which  leads  along  the  moun- 
tain-side at  places  where  the  river  strikes  the  base,  is  some- 
times  bad  even  for  a  horseman.  The  mountains  along  thu 
day's  journey  were  composed,  near  the  river,  of  a  slaty  cal 
careous  rock  in  a  metamorphic  condition.  It  appears  origi 
nally  to  have  been  a  slaty  sedimentary  limestone,  but  it- 
present  condition  indicates  that  it  has  been  altered,  and  ha*i 
become  partially  crystalline — probably  from  the  proximity  of 
volcanic  rocks.  But  though  traveling  was  slow  and  fatiguing 
to  the  animals,  we  were  delighted  with  the  appearance  of  the 
country,  which  was  green  and  refreshing  after  our  tedious 
journey  down  the  parched  valley  of  Snake  river.  The  moun- 
tains were  covered  with  good  bunch-grass,  (festuca;)  the 
water  of  the  streams  was  cold  and  pure ;  their  bottoms  were 
handsomely  wooded  with  various  kinds  of  trees ;  and  huge  and 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  239 

lofty  picturesque  precipices  where  the  river  cut  through  the 
mountain. 

We  found  in  the  evening  some  good  grass  and  rushes ;  and 
encamped  among  large  timber,  principally  birch,  which  had 
been  recently  burnt,  and  blackened,  and  almost  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  night  was  calm  and  tolerably  clear,  with  the  ther- 
mometer at  sunset  at  59°.  Our  journey  to-day  was  about 
twenty  miles. 

14th. — The  day  was  clear  and  calm,  with  a  temperature  at 
sunrise  of  46°.  After  traveling  about  three  miles  up  the 
valley,  we  found  the  river  shut  up  by  precipices  in  a  kind  of 
canon,  and  the  road  makes  a  circuit  over  the  mountains.  In 
the  afternoon  we  reached  the  river  again,  by  another  little 
ravine  ;  and,  after  traveling  along  it  for  a  few  miles,  left  it  en- 
closed among  rude  mountains ;  and,  ascending  a  smaller 
branch,  encamped  on  it  about  five  o'clock,  very  much  elevated 
above  the  valley.  The  view  was  everywhere  limited  by 
mountains,  on  which  were  no  longer  seen  the  black  and  barren 
rocks,  but  ,a  fertile  soil,  with  excellent  grass,  and  partly  well 
covered  with  pine.  I  have  never  seen  a  wagon-road  equally 
bad  in  the  same  space,  as  this  of  yesterday  and  to-day.  I 
noticed  where  one  wagon  had  been  overturned  twice,  in  a  very 
short  distance ;  and  it  was  surprising  to  me  that  those  wagons 
which  were  in  the  rear,  and  could  not  have  had  much  assist- 
ance, got  through  at  all.  Still,  there  is  no  mud  ;  and  the  road 
has  one  advantage,  in  being  perfectly  firm.  The  day  had  been 
warm  and  very  pleasant,  and  the  night  was  perfectly  clear. 

15th. — The  thermometer  at  daylight  was  42°,  and  at  sun- 
rise 40°  ;  clouds,  which  were  scattered  over  all  the  sky,  dis- 
appeared with  the  rising  sun.  The  trail  did  not  much  im- 
prove until  we  had  crossed  the  dividing-ground  between  the 
Brtttte  (Burnt)  and  Powder  rivers.  The  rock  displayed  on  the 
mountains,  as  we  approached  the  summit,  was  a  compact  trap, 
decomposed  on  the  exposed  surfaces,  and  apparently  an  altered 
argillaceous  sandstone,  containing  small  crystalline  nodules  of 
anolcime,  apparently  filling  cavities  originally  existing.  From 
the  summit  here,  the  whole  horizon  shows  high  mountains ; 
no  high  plain  or  level  is  to  be  seen  ;  and  on  the  left,  from  south 


240  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

around  by  the  west  to  north,  the  mountains  are  black  with 
pines ;  while,  through  the  remaining  space  to  the  eastward, 
they  are  bald,  with  the  exception  of  some  scattered  pines. 
You  will  remark  that  we  are  now  entering  a  region  where  all 
the  elevated  parts  are  covered  with  dense  and  heavy  forests. 
From  the  dividing-grounds  we  descended  by  a  mountain-road 
to  Powder  river,  on  an  old  bed  of  which  we  encamped.  De- 
scending from  the  summit,  we  enjoyed  a  picturesque  view  of 
high  rocky  mountains  on  the  right,  illuminated  by  the  setting 
sun. 

From  the  heights  we  had  looked  in  vain  for  a  well-known 
landmark  on  Powder  river,  which  had  been  described  to  me 
by  Mr.  Payette  as  I7arbre  seul,  (the  lone  tree  ;)  and,  on  arriving 
at  the  river,  we  found  a  fine  tall  pine  stretched  on  the  ground, 
which  had  been  felled  by  some  inconsiderate  emigrant  axe. 
It  had  been  a  beacon  on  the  road  for  many  years  past.  Our 
Cayuses  had  become  impatient  to  reach  their  homes,  and  trav- 
eled on  ahead  to  day ;  and  this  afternoon  we  were  visited  by 
several  Indians  who  belonged  to  the  tribes  on  the  Columbia. 
They  were  on  horseback,  and  were  out  on  a  hunting  excur- 
sion, but  had  obtained  no  better  game  than  a  large  gray  hare, 
of  which  each  had  some  six  or  seven  hanging  to  his  saddle. 
We  were  also  visited  by  an  Indian  who  had  his  lodge  and 
family  in  the  mountain  to  the  left.  He  was  in  want  of  ammu- 
nition, and  brought  with  him  a  beaver-skin  to  exchange,  and 
which  he  valued  at  six  charges  of  powder  and  ball.  I  learned 
from  him  that  there  are  very  few  of  these  animals  remaining 
in  this  part  of  the  country. 

The  temperature  at  sunset  was  61°,  and  the  evening  clear. 
[  obtained,  with  other  observations,  an  immersion  and  emersion 
of  the  third  satellite.  Elevation  3,100  feet. 

16th. — For  several  weeks  the  weather  in  the  daytime  has 
been  very  beautiful,  clear,  and  warm ;  but  the  nights,  in  com- 
parison, are  very  cold.  During  the  night  there  was  ice  a  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  thick  in  the  lodge  ;  and  at  daylight  the  thermo- 
meter was  at  16°,  and  the  same  at  sunrise,  the  weather  being 
calm  and  clear.  The  annual  vegetation  now  is  nearly  gone, 
almost  all  the  plants  being  out  of  bloom. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  241 

Last  night  two  of  our  horses  had  run  off  again,  which  delay- 
ed us  until  noon,  and  we  made  to-day  but  a  short  journey  of 
13  miles,  the  road  being  very  good,  and  encamped  in  a  fine 
bottom  of  Powder  river. 

The  thermometer  at  sunset  was  at  61°,  with  an  easterly 
wind,  and  partially  clear  sky ;  and  the  day  has  been  quite 
pleasant  and  warm,  though  more  cloudy  than  yesterday  ;  and 
the  sun  was  frequently  faint,  but  it  grew  finer  and  clearer  to- 
wards evening. 

17th. — Thermometer  at  sunrise  25°.  The  weather  at  day- 
light was  fine,  and  the  sky  without  a  cloud  ;  but  these  came 
up,  or  were  formed  by  the  sun,  and  at  seven  were  thick  over 
all  the  sky.  Just  now,  this  appears  to  be  the  regular  course — 
clear  and  brilliant  during  the  night,  and  cloudy  during  the 
day.  There  is  snow  yet  visible  in  the  neighboring  mountains, 
which  yesterday  extended  along  our  route  to  the  left,  in  a  lofty 
and  dark-blue  range,  having  much  the  appearance  of  the  Wind 
River  mountains.  It  is  probable  that  they  have  received  their 
name  of  the  Blue  mountains  from  the  dark-blue  appearance 
given  to  them  by  the  pines.  We  traveled  this  morning  across 
the  affluents  to  Powder  river,  the  road  being  good,  firm,  and 
level,  and  the  country  became  constantly  more  pleasant  and 
interesting.  The  soil  appeared  to  be  very  deep,  and  is  black 
and  extremely  good,  as  well  among  the  hollows  of  the  hills  on 
the  elevated  plats,  as  on  the  river  bottoms,  the  vegetation  being 
such  as  is  usually  found  in  good  ground.  The  following  ana- 
lytical result  shows  the  precise  qualities  of  this  soil,  and  will 
justify  to  science  the  character  of  fertility  which  the  eye  at- 
tributes to  it : 

Analysis  of  Powder  river  soil. 
Silica        '  *'  >-    *'<**  "<;iV      . 

Alumina  -  r;     ••        •.     *•*.        • 

Carbonate  of  lime         ...... 

Carbonate  of  magnesia     -         -         - 

Oxide  of  iron       ....... 

Organic  matter 

Water  and  loss  ...  ... 


100-00 

n 


242  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT, 

From  the  waters  of  this  stream,  the  road  ascended  by  a  good 
and  moderate  ascent  to  a  dividing  ridge,  but  immediately  en 
tered  upon  ground  covered  with  fragments  of  an  altered  sili- 
cious  slate,  which  are  in  many  places  large,  and  render  the 
road  racking  to  a  x;arriage.  In  this  rock  the  planes  of  deposi- 
tion are  distinctly  preserved,  and  the  metamorphism  is  evident- 
ly due  to  the  proximity  of  volcanic  rocks.  On  either  side,  the 
mountains  here  are  densely  covered  with  tall  and  handsome 
trees  ;  and,  mingled  with  the  green  of  a  variety  of  pines,  is  the 
yellow  of  the  European  larch,  (pinus  larix.,)  which  loses  "its 
leaves  in  the  fall.  From  its  present  color,  we  were  enabled  to 
see  that  it  forms  a.  large  proportion  of  the  forests  on  the  moun- 
tains, and  is  here  a  magnificent  tree,  attaining  sometimes  the 
height  of  200  feet,  which  I  believe  is  elsewhere  unknown. 
About  two  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  a  high  point  of  the  di- 
viding ridge,  from  which  we  obtained  a  good  view  of  the  Grand 
Rond — a  beautiful  level  basin,  or  mountain  valley,  covered 
with  good  grass,  on  a  rich  soil,  abundantly  watered,  and  sur- 
rounded by  high  and  well-timbered  mountains — and  its  name 
descriptive  of  its  form — the  great  circie.  It  is  a  place — one 
of  the  few  we  have  seen  on  our  journey  so  far — where  a  farmer 
would  delight  to  establish  himself,  if  he  "were  content  to  live  in 
the  seclusion  which  it  imposes.  It  is  about  20  miles  in  diame- 
ter, and  may,  in  time,  form  a  superb  county.  Probably  with 
the  view  of  avoiding  a  circuit,  the  wagons  had  directly  de- 
scended into  the  Rond  by  the  face  of  a  hill  so  very  rocky  and 
continuously  steep  as  to  be  apparently  impracticable,  and,  fol- 
lowing down  on  their  trail,  we  encamped  on  one  of  the  branches 
of  the  Grand  Rond  river,  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  I 
had  remarked,  in  descending,  some  very  white  spots  glistening 
on  the  plain,  and,  going  out  in  that  direction  after  we  had  en- 
camped, I  found  them  to  be  the  bed  of  a  dry  salt  lake,  or 
marsh,  very  firm  and  bare,  which  was  covered  thickly  with  a 
fine  white  powder,  containing  a  large  quantity  of  carbonate  of 
soda,  (thirty-three  in  one  hundred  parts.) 

The  old  grass  had  been  lately  burnt  off  from  the  surround- 
ing hills,  and,  wherever  the  fire  had  passed,  there  was  a  recent 
growth  of  strong,  green,  and  vigorous  grass  ;  and  the  soil  of 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  243 

the  level  prairie,  which  sweeps  directly  up  to  the  foot  of  the 
surrounding  mountains,  appears  to  be  very  rich,  producing 
flax  spontaneously  and  luxuriantly  in  various  places. 

Analysis  of  Grand  Rond  soil. 

Silica, 70-81 

Alumina,          -         -        -        -         -        -        -         -         10-97 

Lime  and  magnesia,          *       ^IJK/-*        •        •        •  1*38 

Oxide  of  iron,  -         -         &  >.  -         -         -         -          2-21 

Vegetable  matter,  partly  decomposed,  -  "  -  ^**  8'16 
Water  and  loss,  -  -  .  *N/*:  .A^*.  *  *•-,>  <+*&  5'46 
Phosphate  of  lime,  -  ;  .,»  $  •+  $  •£&&•*•&')  1*01 

iob-00 

The  elevation  of  this  encampment  is  2,940  feet  above  the  sea. 
18th. — It  began  to  rain  an  hour  before  sunrise,  and  con- 
tinued until  ten  o'clock ;  the  sky  entirely  overcast,  and  the 
temperature  at  sunrise  48°. 

We  resumed  our  journey  somewhat  later  than  usual,  travel- 
ing in  a  nearly  north  direction  across  the  beautiful  valley ;  arid 
about  noon  reached  a  place  on  one  of  the  principal  streams, 
where  I  had  determined  to  leave  the  emigrant  trail,  in  the  esk 
pectation  of  finding  a  more  direct  and  better  road  across  the 
Blue  mountains.  At  this  place  the  emigrants  appeared  to 
have  held  some  consultation  as  to  their  further  route,  and  finally 
turned  directly  off  to  the  left;  reaching  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain in  about  three  miles,  which  they  ascended  by  a  hill 
as  steep  and  difficult  as  that  by  which  we  had  yesterday  de- 
scended to  the  Rond.  Quitting,  therefore,  this  road,  which,  af- 
ter a  very  rough  crossing,  issues  from  the  mountains  by  the 
heads  of  the  Umatilah  river,  we  continued  our  northern  course 
across  the  valley,  following  an  Indian  trail  which  had  been 
indicated  to  me  by  Mr.  Payette,  and  encamped  at  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  Grand  Rond,  on  a  slough-like  stream  of  very 
deep  water,  without  any  apparent  current.  There  are  some 
pines  here  on  the  low  hills  at  the  creek  ;  and  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  Rond  is  a  very  heavy  body  of  timber,  which  de- 
scends into  the  plain.  The  clouds,  which  had  rested  very  low 
along  the  mountain  sides  during  the  day,  rose  gradually  u  )  in 
the  afternoon  ;  and  in  the  evening  the  sky  was  almost  enti  ely 


244  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

clear,  with  a  temperature  at  sunset  of  47°.  Some  indifferent 
observations  placed  the  camp  in  longitude  117°  28'  26",  lati- 
tude 45°  26'  47" ;  and  the  elevation  was  2,600  feet  above 
the  sea. 

19th. — This  morning  the  mountains  were  hidden  by  fog ; 
there  was  a  heavy  dew  during  the  night,  in  which  the  exposed 
thermometer  at  daylight  stood  at  32°,  and  at  sunrise  the  tem- 
perature was  35°. 

We  passed  out  of  the  Grand  Rond  by  a  fine  road  along  the 
creek,  which,  for  a  short  distance,  runs  in  a  kind  of  rocky 
chasm.  Crossing  a  low  point,  which  was  a  little  rocky,  the 
trail  conducted  into  the  open  valley  of  the  stream — a  handsome 
place  for  farms ;  the  soil,  even  of  the  hills,  being  rich  and 
black.  Passing  through  a  point  of  pines,  which  bore  evidences 
of  being  very  much  frequented  by  the  Indians,  and  in  which 
the  trees  were  sometimes  apparently  200  feet  high,  and  three 
to  seven  feet  in  diameter,  we  halted  for  a  few  minutes  in  the 
afternoon  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  mountains,  on  a  branch  of  the 
Grand  Rond  river,  at  an  elevation  of  2,700  feet.  Resuming 
our  journey,  we  commenced  the  ascent  of  the  mountains 
through  an  open  pine  forest  of  large  and  stately  trees,  among 
which  the  balsam  pine  made  its  appearance ;  the  road  being 
good,  with  the  exception  of  one  steep  ascent,  with  a  corres- 
ponding descent,  which  might  both  have  been  easily  avoided 
by  opening  the  way  for  a  short  distance  through  the  timber. 
It  would  have  been  well  had  we  encamped  on  the  stream  where 
we  had  halted  below,  as  the  night  overtook  us  on  the  mountain, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  encamp  without  water,  and  tie  up  the 
animals  to  the  trees  for  the  night.  We  halted  on  a  smooth 
open  place  of  a  narrow  ridge,  which  descended  very  rapidly  to 
a  ravine  or  piny  hollow,  at  a  considerable  distance  below ;  and 
it  was  quite  a  pretty  spot,  had  there  been  water  near.  But 
the  fires  at  night  look  very  cheerless  after  a  day's  march, 
when  there  is  no  preparation  for  supper  going  on ;  and,  after 
sitting  some  time  around  the  blazing  logs,  Mr.  Preuss  and 
Carson,  with  several  others,  volunteered  to  take  the  India-rub- 
ber buckets  and  go  down  into  the  ravine  in  search  of  water. 
It  M  as  a  very  difficult  way  in  the  darkness  down  the  slippery 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  245 

side  of  the  steep  mountain,  and  harder  still  to  climb  about  half 
a  mile  up  again ;  but  they  found  the  water,  and  the  cup  of 
coffee  (which  it  enabled  us  to  make)  and  bread  were  only  en- 
joyed with  greater  pleasure. 

At  sunset  the  temperature  was  46°  ;  the  evening  remarka- 
bly clear ;  and  I  obtained  an  emersion  of  the  first  satellite, 
which  does  not  give  a  good  result,  although  the  observation 
was  a  very  good  one.  The  chronometric  longitude  was  117° 
28'  34",  latitude  45°  38'  07",  and  we  had  ascended  to  an 
elevation  of  3,830  feet.-  It  appeared  to  have  snowed  yes- 
terday on  the  mountains,  their  summits  showing  very  white 
to-day. 

20th. — There  was  a  heavy  white  frost  during  the  night,  and 
at  sunrise  the  temperature  was  37°. 

The  animals  had  eaten  nothing  during  the  night ;  and  we 
made  an  early  start,  continuing  our  route  among  the  pines, 
which  were  more  dense  than  yesterday,  and  still  retained  their 
magnificent  size.  The  larches  cluster  together  in  masses  on  the 
side  of  the  mountains,  and  their  yellow  foliage  contrasts  hand- 
somely with  the  green  of  the  balsam  and  other  pines.  After  a 
few  miles  we  ceased  to  see  any  pines,  and  the  timber  consisted 
of  several  varieties  of  spruce,  larch,  and  balsam  pine,  which 
have  a  regularly  conical  figure.  These  trees  appeared  from  CO 
to  nearly  200  feet  in  height ;  the  usual  circumference  being  10 
to  12  feet,  and  in  the  pines  sometimes  21  feet.  In  open  places 
near  the  summit,  these  trees  became  less  high  and  more  branch- 
ing, the  conical  form  having  a  greater  base.  The  instrument 
carriage  occasioned  much  delay,  it  being  frequently  necessary 
to  fell  trees  and  remove  the  fallen  timber.  The  trail  we  were 
following  led  up  a  long  spur,  with  a  very  gradual  and  gentle 
rise.  At  the  end  of  three  miles,  we  halted  at  an  open  place 
near  the  summit,  from  which  we  enjoyed  a  fine  view  over  the 
mountainous  country  where  we  had  lately  traveled,  to  take  a 
barometrical  observation  at  the  height  of  4,460  feet. 

After  traveling  occasionally  through  open  places  in  the 
forest,  we  were  obliged  to  cut  a  way  through  a  dense  body  of 
timber,  from  which  we  emerged  on  an  open  mountain-side, 
where  we  found  a  number  of  small  springs,  and  encamped 


246  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

after  a  day's  journey  of  ten  miles.  Our  elevation  here  was 
5,000  feet. 

21st. — There  was  a  very  heavy  white  frost  during  the  night, 
and  the  thermometer  at  sunrise  was  30°. 

We  continued  to  travel  through  the  forest,  in  which  the  road 
was  rendered  difficult  by  fallen  trunks,  and  obstructed  by 
many  small  trees,  which  it  was  necessary  to  cut  down.  But 
these  are  only  accidental  difficulties,  which  could  easily  be  re- 
moved, and  a  very  excellent  road  may  be  had  through  this 
pass,  with  no  other  than  very  moderate  ascents  or  declivities. 
A  laborious  day,  which  had  advanced  us  only  six  miles  on  the 
road,  brought  us  in  the  afternoon  to  an  opening  in  the  forest, 
in  which  there  was  a  fine  mountain  meadow,  with  good  grass, 
and  a  large  clear-water  stream — one  of  the  head  branches  of 
the  Umatilah  river.  During  this  day's  journey,  the  barometer 
was  broken  ;  and  the  elevations  above  the  sea,  hereafter  given, 
depend  upon  the  temperature  of  boiling  water.  Some  of  the 
white  spruces  which  I  measured  to-day  were  twelve  feet  in 
circumference,  and  one  of  the  larches  ten ;  but  eight  feet  was 
the  average  circumference  of  those  measured  along  the  road. 
I  held  in  my  hand  a  tape  line  as  I  walked  along,  in  order  to 
form  some  correct  idea  of  the  size  of  the  timber.  Their  height 
appeared  to  be  from  100  to  180,  and  perhaps  200  feet,  and  the 
trunks  of  the  larches  were  sometimes  100  feet  without  a  limb ; 
but  the  white  spruces  were  generally  covered  with  branches 
nearly  to  the  root.  All  these  trees  have  their  branches,  par- 
ticularly the  lower  ones,  declining. 

22d. — The  white  frost  this  morning  was  like  snow  on  the 
ground  ;  the  ice  was  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  on  the  creek, 
and  the  thermometer  at  sunrise  was  at  20°.  But,  in  a  few 
hours,  the  day  became  warm  and  pleasant,  and  our  road  over 
the  mountains  was  delightful  and  full  of  enjoyment. 

The  trail  passed  sometimes  through  very  thick  young  timber, 
in  which  there  was  much  cutting  to  be  done ;  but,  after  travel- 
ing a  few  miles,  the  mountains  became  more  bald,  and  we 
reached  a  point  from  which  there  was  a  very  extensive  view 
in  the  northwest.  We  were  on  the  western  verge  of  the  Blue 
mountains,  long  spurs  of  which,  very  precipitous  on  either  side 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  247 

extended  down  into  the  valley,  the  waters  of  the  mountain 
roaring  between  them.  On  our  right  was  a  mountain  plateau, 
covered  with  a  dense  forest ;  and  to  the  westward,  immediate- 
ly below  us,  was  the  great  Nez  Perce  (pierced  nose)  prairie,  in 
which  dark  lines  of  timber  indicated  the  course  of  many  afflu- 
ents to  a  considerable  stream  that  was  pursuing  its  way  across 
the  plain  towards  what  appeared  to  be  the  Columbia  river. 
This  I  knew  to  be  the  Walahwalah  river,  and  occasional  spots 
along  its  banks,  which  resembled  clearings,  were  supposed  to 
be  the  mission  or  Indian  settlements ;  but  the  weather  was 
smoky  and  unfavorable  to  far  views  with  the  glass.  The  rock 
displayed  here  in  the  escarpments  is  a  compact  amorphous  trap, 
which  appears  to  constitute  the  mass  of  the  Blue  mountains  in 
this  latitude ;  and  all  the  region  of  country  through  which  we 
have  traveled  since  leaving  the  Snake  river  has  been  the  seat 
of  violent  and  extensive  igneous  action.  Along  the  Burnt 
River  valley,  the  strata  are  evidently  sedimentary  rocks,  altered 
by  the  intrusion  of  volcanic  products,  which  in  some  instances 
have  penetrated  and  essentially  changed  their  original  condi- 
tion. Along  our  line  of  route  from  this  point  to  the  California 
mountains,  there  seems  but  little  essential  change.  All  our 
specimens  of  sedimentary  rocks  show  them  much  altered,  and 
volcanic  productions  appear  to  prevail  throughout  the  whole 
intervening  distance. 

The  road  now  led  along  the  mountain  side,  around  heads  of 
the  precipitous  ravines ;  and  keeping  men  ahead  to  clear  the 
road,  we  passed  alternately  through  bodies  of  timber  and  small 
open  prairies,  and  encamped  in  a  large  meadow,  in  view  of  the 
great  prairie  below. 

At  sunset  the  thermometer  was  at  40°,  and  the  night  was 
very  clear  and  bright.  Water  was  only  to  be  had  here  by 
descending  a  bad  ravine,  into  which  we  drove  our  animals,  and 
had  much  trouble  with  them  in  a  very  close  growth  of  small 
pines.  Mr.  Preuss  had  walked  ahead  and  did  not  get  into  the 
camp  this  evening.  The  trees  here  maintained  their  size,  and 
one  of  the  black  spruces  measured  15  feet  in  circumference. 
In  the  neighborhood  of  the  camp,  pines  have  reappeared  here 
among  the  timber. 


248  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

23d. — The  morning  was  very  clear  ;  there  haa  been  a  heavy 
white  frost  during  the  night,  and  at  sunrise  the  thermometer 
was  at  31°. 

After  cutting  through  two  thick  bodies  of  timber,  in  which 
I  noticed  some  small  trees  of  hemlock  spruce,  (perusse,)  the 
forest  became  more  open,  and  we  had  no  longer  any  trouble  to 
clear  a  way.  The  pines  here  were  11  or  12  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  about  110  feet  high,  and  appeared  to  love  the 
open  grounds.  The  trail  now  led  along  one  of  the  long  spurs 
of  the  mountain,  descending  gradually  towards  the  plain  ;  and 
after  a  few  miles  traveling,  we  emerged  finally  from  the  forest, 
in  full  view  of  the  plain  below,  and  saw  the  snowy  mass  of 
Mount  Hood,  standing  high  out  above  the  surrounding  country 
at  the  distance  of  180  miles.  The  road  along  the  ridge  was 
excellent,  and  the  grass  very  green  and  good ;  the  old  grass 
having  been  burnt  off  early  in  the  autumn.  About  4  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  we  reached  a  little  bottom  of  the  Walahwalah 
river,  where  we  found  Mr.  Preuss,  who  yesterday  had  reached 
this  place,  and  found  himself  too  far  in  advance  of  the  camp 
to  return.  The  stream  here  has  just  issued  from  the  narrow 
ravines,  which  are  walled  with  precipices,  in  which  the  rock 
has  a  brown  and  more  burnt  appearance  than  above. 

At  sunset,  the  thermometer  was  at  48°,  and  our  position  was 
in  longitude  118°  00'  39",  and  in  latitude  45<>  53/  35". 

The  morning  was  clear,  with  a  temperature  at  sunrise  of 
24°.  Crossing  the  river,  we  traveled  over  a  hilly  country 
with  a  good  bunch-grass ;  the  river  bottom,  which  generally 
contains  the  best  soil  in  other  countries,  being  here  a  sterile 
level  of  rocks  and  pebbles.  We  had  found  the  soil  in  the  Blue 
mountains  to  be  of  excellent  quality,  and  it  appeared  also  to  be 
good  here  among  the  lower  hills.  Reaching  a  little  eminence 
over  which  the  trail  passed,  we  had  an  extensive  view  along 
the  course  of  the  river,  which  was  divided  and  spread  over  its 
bottom  in  a  network  of  water,  receiving  several  other  tribu- 
taries from  the  mountains.  There  was  a  band  of  several  hun- 
dred horses  grazing  on  the  hills  about  two  miles  ahead  ;  and 
as  we  advanced  on  the  road  we  met  other  bands,  which  Indians 
were  driving  out  to  pasture  also  on  the  hills.  True  to  its  gen- 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  249 

eral  character,  the  reverse  of  other  countries,  the  hills  and 
mountains  here  were  rich  in  grass,  the  bottoms  barren  and 
sterile. 

In  six  miles  we  crossed  a  principal  fork,  below  which  the 
scattered  waters  of  the  river  were  gathered  into  one  channel ; 
and,  passing  on  the  way  several  unfinished  houses,  and  some 
cleared  patches,  where  corn  and  potatoes  were  cultivated,  we 
reached,  in  about  eight  miles  further,  the  missionary  establish- 
ment of  Dr.  Whitman,  which  consisted  at  this  time  of  one 
adobe  house — i.  e.,  built  of  unburnt  bricks  as  in  Mexico. 

I  found  Dr.  Whitman  absent  on  a  visit  to  the  Dalles  of  the 
Columbia ;  but  had  the  pleasure  to  see  a  fine-looking  family 
of  emigrants,  men,  women,  and  children,  in  robust  health,  all 
indemnifying  themselves  for  previous  scanty  fare,  in  a  hearty 
consumption  of  potatoes,  which  are  produced  here  of  a  remark- 
ably good  quality.  We  were  disappointed  in  our  expectation 
of  obtaining  corn-meal  or  flour  at  this  station,  the  mill  belong- 
ing to  the  mission  having  been  lately  burned  down ;  but  an 
abundant  supply  of  excellent  potatoes  banished  regrets,  and 
furnished  a  grateful  substitute  for  bread.  A  small  town  of 
Nez  Perce  Indians  gave  an  inhabited  and  even  a  populous  ap- 
pearance to  the  station  ;  and,  after  remaining  about  an  hour, 
we  continued  our  route  and  encamped  on  the  river  about  four 
miles  below,  passing  on  the  way  an  emigrant  encampment. 

'Temperature  at  sunset,  49°. 

25th. — The  weather  was  pleasant,  with  a  sunrise  tempera- 
ture of  36°.  Our  road  to-day  had  nothing  in  it  of  interest ; 
and  the  country  offered  to  the  eye  only  a  sandy,  undulating 
plain,  through  which  a  scantily-timbered  river  takes  its  course. 
We  halted  about  three  miles  above  the  mouth,  on  account  of 
grass ;  and  the  next  morning  arrived  at  the  Nez  Perce  fort, 
one  of  the  trading  establishments  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
a  few  hundred  yards  above  the  junction  of  the  Walahwalah  with 
the  Columbia  river.  Here  we  had  the  first  view  of  this  river,  and 
found  it  about  1,200  yards  wide,  and  presenting  the  appear- 
ance of  a  fine,  navigable  stream.  We  made  our  camp  in  a 
little  grove  of  willows  on  the  Walahwalah,  which  are  the  only 
trees  to  be  seen  in  the  neighborhood ;  but  were  obliged  to  send 
11* 


250  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [OcT. 

the  animals  back  to  the  encampment  we  had  left,  as  there  was 
scarcely  a  blade  of  grass  to  be  found.  The  post  is  on  the 
bank  of  the  Columbia,  on  a  plain  of  bare  sands,  from  which  the 
air  was  literally  filled  wilh  clouds  of  dust  and  sand,  during  one 
of  the  few.  days  we  remained  here  ;  this  place  being  one  of  the 
several  points  on  the  river  which  are  distinguished  for  prevail- 
ing high  winds,  that  come  from  the  sea.  The  appearance  of 
the  post  and  country  was  without  interest,  except  that  we  here 
saw,  for  the  first  time,  the  great  river  on  which  the  course  of 
events  for  the  last  half  century  has  been  directing  attention  and 
conferring  historical  fame.  The  river  is,  indeed,  a  noble  ob- 
ject, and  has  here  attained  its  full  magnitude.  About  nine 
miles  above,  and  in  sight  from  the  heights  about  this  post,  is 
the  junction  of  the  two  great  forks  which  constitute  the  main 
stream — that  on  which  we  had  been  traveling  from  Fort  Hall, 
and  known  by  the  names  of  Lewis's  fork,  Shoshonee,  and 
Snake  river;  and  the  North  fork,  which  has  retained  the 
name  of  Columbia,  as  being  the  main  stream. 

We  did  not  go  up  to  the  junction,  being  pressed  for  time ; 
but  the,  union  of  two  large  streams,  coming  one  from  the  south- 
east, and  the  other  from  the  northeast,  and  meeting  in  what 
may  be  treated  as  the  geographical  centre  of  the  Oregon  val- 
ley, thence  doubling  the  volume  of  water  to  the  ocean,  while 
opening  two  great  lines  of  communication  with  the  interior 
continent,  constitutes  a  feature  in  the  map  of  the  country 
which  cannot  be  overlooked  ;  and  it  was  probably  in  reference 
to  this  junction  of  waters,  and  these  lines  of  communication, 
that  this  post  was  established.  They  are  important  lines,  and, 
from  the  structure  of  the  country,  must  forever  remain  so, 
— one  of  them  leading  to  the  South  Pass  and  to  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  other  to  the  pass  at  the  head  of  the  Atha- 
basca river,  and  to  the  countries  drained  by  the  waters  of  the 
Hudson  Bay.  The  British  fur  companies  now  use  both  lines  ; 
the  Americans,  in  their  emigration  to  Oregon,  have  begun  to 
follow  the  one  which  leads  towards  the  United  States.  Bateaux 
from  tide-water  ascend  to  the  junction,  and  thence  high  up 
the  North  fork,  or  Columbia.  Land  conveyance  only  is  used 
upon  the  line  of  Lewis's  fork.  To  the  emigrants  to  Oregon, 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  251 

the  Nez  Perce  is  a  point  of  great  interest,  as  being,  to  those 
who  choose  it,  the  termination  of  their  overland  journey.  The 
broad  expanse  of  the  river  here  invites  them  to  embark  on  its 
bosom  ;  and  the  lofty  trees  of  the  forest  furnish  the  means  of 
doing  so. 

From  the  South  Pass  to  this  place  is  about  1,000  miles ;  and 
as  it  is  about  the  same  distance  from  that  pass  to  the  Missouri 
river  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas,  it  may  be  assumed  that  2,000 
miles  is  the  necessary  land  travel  in  crossing  from  the  United 
States  to  the  Pacific  ocean  on  this  line.  From  the  mouth  of 
the  Great  Platte  it  would  be  about  100  miles  less. 

Mr.  McKinley,  the  commander  of  the  post,  received  us  with 
great  civility  ;  and  both,  to  myself,  and  the  heads  of  the  emi- 
grants who  were  there  at  the  time,  extended  the  rights  of  hos- 
pitality in  a  comfortable  dinner  to  which  he  invited  us. 

By  a  meridional  altitude  of  the  sun,  the  only  observation 
that  the  weather  permitted  us  to  obtain,  the  mouth  of  the  Wa- 
lahwalah  river  is  in  latitude  46°  03'  46" ;  and,  by  the  road  we 
had  traveled,  612  miles  from  Fort  Hall.  At  the  time  of  our 
arrival,  a  considerable  body  of  emigrants,  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Applegate,  a  man  of  considerable  resolution  and  energy, 
had  nearly  completed  the  building  of  a  number  of  Mackinaw 
boats,  in  which  they  proposed  to  continue  their  further  voyage 
down  the  Columbia.  I  had  seen,  in  descending  the  Walahwa- 
lah  river,  a  fine  drove  of  several  hundred  cattle,  which  they 
had  exchanged  for  California  cattle,  to  be  received  at  Vancou- 
ver, and  which  are  considered  a  very  inferior  breed.  The 
other  portion  of  the  emigration  had  preferred  to  complete  their 
journey  by  land  along  the  banks  of  the  Columbia,  taking  their 
stock  and  wagons  with  them. 

Having  reinforced  our  animals  with  eight  fresh  horses,  hired 
from  the  post,  and  increased  our  stock  of  provisions  with  dried 
salmon,  potatoes,  and  a  little  beef,  we  resumed  our  journey 
down  the  left  bank  of  the  Columbia,  being  guided  on  our  road 
by  an  intelligent  Indian  boy,  whom  I  had  engaged  to  accdHl- 
pany  us  as  far  as  the  Dalles. 

From  an  elevated  point  over  which  the  road  led,  we  obtained 
another  far  view  of  Mount  Hood,  150  miles  distant.  We  ob- 


252  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Ocx. 

tained  on  the  river  bank  an  observation  of  the  sun  at  noon, 
which-gave  for  the  latitude  45°  58'  08".  The  country  to-day 
was  very  unprepossessing,  and  our  road  bad  ;  and  as  we  toiled 
slowly  along  through  deep  loose  sands,  and  over  fragments  of 
black  volcanic  rock,  our  laborious  traveling  was  strongly  con- 
trasted with  the  rapid  progress  of  Mr.  Applegate's  fleet  of 
boats,  which  suddenly  came  gliding  swiftly  down  the  broad 
river,  which  here  chanced  to  be  tranquil  and  smooth.  At  even- 
ing we  encamped  on  the  river  bank,  where  there  was  very 
little  grass,  and  less  timber.  We  frequently  met  Indians  on 
the  road,  and  they  were  collected  at  every  favorable  spot  along 
the  river. 

29th. — The  road  continued  along  the  river,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  day  Mount  St.  Helens,  another  snowy  peak  of  the  Cas- 
cade range,  was  visible.  We  crossed  the  Umatilah  river  at  a 
fall  near  its  mouth.  This  stream  is  of  the  same  class  as  the 
Walahwalah  river,  with  a  bed  of  volcanic  rock,  in  places  split 
into  fissures.  Our  encampment  was  similar  to  that  of  yester- 
day ;  there  was  very  little  grass,  and  no  wood.  The  Indians 
brought  us  some  pieces  for  sale,  which  were  purchased  to  make 
our  fires. 

31st. — By  observation,  our  camp  is  in  latitude  45°  50'  05", 
and  longitude  119°  22'  18".  The  night  has  been  cold,  and 
we  have  white  frost  this  morning,  with  a  temperature  at  day- 
light of  25°,  and  at  sunrise  of  24°.  The  early  morning  was 
very  clear,  and  the  stars  bright ;  but,  as  usual,  since  we  are 
on  the  Columbia,  clouds  formed  immediately  with  the  rising 
sun.  The  day  continued  fine,  the  east  being  covered  with 
scattered  clouds,  but  the  west  remaining  clear,  showing  the 
remarkable  cone-like  peak  of  Mount  Hood  brightly  drawn 
against  the  sky.  This  was  in  view  all  day  in  the  southwest, 
but  no  other  peaks  of  the  range  were  visible.  Our  road  was 
a  bad  one,  of  very  loose,  deep  sand.  We  met  on  the  way  a 
party  of  Indians  unusually  well-dressed.  They  appeared  in- 
fBligent,  and,  in  our  slight  intercourse,  impressed  me  with 
the  belief  that  they  possessed  some  aptitude  for  acquiring  lan- 
guages. 

We  continued  to  travel  along  the  river,  the  stream  being 


1343.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  253 

interspersed  with  many  sand- bars  (it  being  the  season  of  low 
water)  and  with  many  islands,  and  an  apparently  good  navi- 
gation. Small  willows  were  the  only  wood  ;  rock  and  sand 
the  prominent  geological  feature.  The  rock  of  this  section  is 
a  very  compact  and  tough  basalt,  occurring  in  strata  which 
have  the  appearance  of  being  broken  into  fragments,  assuming 
the  form  of  columnar  hills,  and  appearing  always  in  escarp- 
ments, with  the  broken  fragments  strewed  at  the  base  and  over 
the  adjoining  country. 

We  made  a  late  encampment  on  the  river,  and  used  to-night 
the  purshia  tridentata  for  firewood.  Among  the  rocks  which 
formed  the  bank,  was  very  good  green  grass.  Latitude  45° 
44'  23",  longitude  119°  45'  09". 


NOVEMBER. 

1st. — Mount  Hood  is  glowing  in  the  sunlight  this  morning, 
and  the  air  is  pleasant,  with  a  temperature  of  38°.  We  con- 
tinued dcwn  the  river,  and,  passing  through  a  pretty  green 
valley,  bounded  by  high  precipitous  rocks,  encamped  at  the 
lower  end. 

On  the  right  shore,  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  are  very,  high 
and  steep  ;  the  river  is  1,690  feet  broad,  and  dark  bluffs  of 
rock  give  it  a  picturesque  appearance. 

2d. — The  river  here  entered  among  bluffs,  leaving  no  longer 
room  for  a  road  ;  and  we  accordingly  left  it,  and  took  a  more 
inland  way  among  the  river  hills — on  which  we  had  no  sooner 
entered,  than  we  found  a  great  improvement  in  the  country. 
The  sand  had  disappeared,  and  the  soil  was  good,  and  covered 
with  excellent  grass,  although  the  surface  was  broken  into  high 
hills,  with  uncommonly  deep  valleys.  At  noon  we  crossed 
John  Day's  river,  a  clear  and  beautiful  stream,  with  a  swift 
current  and  a  bed  of  rolled  stones.  It  is  sunk  in  a  deep  val- 
ley, which  is  characteristic  of  all  the  streams  in  this  region ; 
and  the  hill  we  descended  to  reach  it  well  deserves  the  name 


254  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

of  mountain.  Some  of  the  emigrants  had  encamped  on  the 
river,  and  others  at  the  summit  of  the  farther  hill,  the  ascent 
of  which  had  probably  cost  their  wagons  a  day's  labor ;  and 
others  again  had  halted  for  the  night  a  few  miles  beyond, 
where  they  had  slept  without  water.  We  also  encamped  in  a 
grassy  hollow  without  water  ;  but,  as  we  had  been  forewarned 
of  this  privation  by  the  guide,  the  animals  had  all  been  water- 
ed at  the  river,  and  we  had  brought  with  us  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity for  the  night. 

3d. — After  two  hours'  ride  through  a  fertile,  hilly  country, 
covered,  as  all  the  upland  here  appears  to  be,  with  good  green 
grass,  we  descended  again  into  the  river  bottom,  along  which 
we  resumed  our  sterile  road,  and  in  about  four  miles  reached 
the  ford  of  the  Fall  river,  (Riviere  aux  Chutes,)  a  considerable 
tributary  to  the  Columbia.  We  had  heard,  on  reaching  the 
Nez  Perce  fort,  a  repetition  of  the  account  in  regard  to  the  un- 
settled character  of  the  Columbia  Indians  at  the  present  time  ; 
and  to  our  little  party  they  had  at  various  points  manifested  a 
not  very  friendly  disposition,  in  several  attempts  to  steal  our 
horses.  At  this  place  I  expected  to  find  a  badly-disposed  band, 
who  had  plundered  a  party  of  14  emigrant  men  a  few  days 
before,  and  taken  away  their  horses  ;  and  accordingly  we  made 
the  necessary  preparation  for  our  security,  but  happily  met 
with  no  difficulty. 

The  river  was  high,  divided  into  several  arms,  with  a  rocky 
island  at  its  outlet  into  the  Columbia,  which  at  this  place  it 
rivalled  in  size,  and  apparently  derived  its  highly  characteris- 
tic name,  which  is  received  from  one  of  its  many  falls  some 
forty  miles  up  the  river.  It  entered  the  Columbia  with  a  roar 
of  falls  and  rapids,  and  is  probably  a  favorite  fishing  station 
among  the  Indians,  with  whom  both  banks  of  the  river  were 
populous ;  but  they  scarcely  paid  any  attention  to  us.  The 
ford  was  very  difficult  at  this  time,  and,  had  they  entertained 
any  bad  intentions,  they  were  offered  a  good  opportunity  to 
carry  them  out,  as  I  drove  directly  into  the  river,  and  during 
the  crossing  the  howitzer  was  occasionally  several  feet  under 
water,  and  a  number  of  the  men  appeared  to  be  more  often  be 
low  than  above.  Our  guide  was  well  acquainted  with  the 


1843,]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  255 

ford,  ana  we  succeeded  in  getting  every  thing  safe  over  to  the 
left  bank.  We  delayed  here  only  a  short  time  to  put  the  gun 
in  order,  and,  ascending  a  long  mountain  hill,  resumed  our 
route  again  among  the  interior  hills. 

The  roar  of  the  Falls  of  the  Columbia  is  heard  from  the 
heights,  where  we  halted  a  few  moments  to  enjoy  a  fine  view 
of  the  river  below.  In  the  season  of  high  water,  it  would  be 
a  very  interesting  object  to  visit,  in  order  to  witness  what  is  re- 
lated of  the  annual  submerging  of  the  fall  under  the  waters 
which  back  up  from  the  basin  below,  constituting  a  great  natu- 
ral lock  at  this  place.  But  time  had  become  an  object  of 
serious  consideration ;  and  the  Falls,  in  their  present  state,  had 
been  seen  and  described  by  many. 

After  a  day's  journey  of  17  miles,  we  encamped  among  the 
hills  on  a  little  clear  stream,  where,  as  usual,  the  Indians  im- 
mediately gathered  round  us.  Among  them  was  a  very  old 
man,  almost  blind  from  age,  with  long  and  very  white  hair.  I 
happened  of  my  own  accord  to  give  this  old  man  a  present  of 
tobacco,  and  was  struck  with  the  impression  which  my  unpro- 
pitiated  notice  made  on  the  Indians,  who  appeared  in  a  remark- 
able manner  acquainted  with  the  real  value  of  goods,  and  to 
understand  the  equivalents  of  trade.  At  evening,  one  of  them 
spoke  a  few  words  to  his  people,  and,  telling  me  that  we  need 
entertain  no  uneasiness  in  regard  to  our  animals,  as  none  of 
them  would  be  disturbed,  they  went  all  quietly  away.  In  the 
morning,  when  they  again  came  to  the  camp,  I  expressed  to  them 
the  gratification  we  felt  at  their  reasonable  conduct,  making 
them  a  present  of  some  large  knives  and  a  few  smaller  articles. 

4th. — The  road  continued  among  the  hills,  and,  reaching  an 
eminence,  we  saw  before  us,  watered  by  a  clear  stream,  a  tol- 
erably large  valley,  through  which  the  trail  passed. 

In  comparison  with  the  Indians  of  the  Rocky  mountains  and 
the  great  eastern  plain,  these  are  disagreeably  dirty  in  their 
habits.  Their  huts  were  crowded  with  half-naked  women  and 
children,  and  the  atmosphere  within  was  any  thing  but  pleasant 
to  persons  who  had  just  been  riding  in  the  fresh  morning  air. 
We  were  somewhat  amused  with  the  scanty  dress  of  a  woman, 
who,  in  common  with  the  others,  rushed  out  of  the  huts  on  our 


256  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

^arrival,  and  who,  in  default  of  other  covering,  used  a  child  for 
a  fig-leaf. 

The  road  in  about  half  an  hour  passed  near  an  elevated 
point,  from  which  we  overlooked  the  valley  of  the  Columbia 
for  many  miles,  and  saw  in  the  distance  several  houses  sur- 
rounded by  fields,  which  a  chief,  who  had  accompanied  us 
from  the  village,  pointed  out  to  us  as  the  Methodist  missionary 
station. 

In  a  few  miles  we  descended  to  the  river,  which  we  reached 
at  one  of  its  remarkably  interesting  features,  known  as  the 
Dalles  of  the  Columbia.  The  whole  volume  of  the  river  at  this 
place  passed  between  the  walls  of  a  chasm,  which  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  rent  through  the  basaltic  strata  which 
form  the  valley-rock  of  the  region.  At  the  narrowest  place 
we  found  the  breadth,  by  measurement,  58  yards,  and  the 
average  height  of  the  walls  above  the  water  25  feet ;  forming 
a  trough  between  the  rocks — whence  the  name,  probably  ap- 
plied by  a  Canadian  voyageur.  The  mass  of  water,  in  the 
present  low  state  of  the  river,  passed  swiftly  between,  deep  and 
black,  and  curled  into  many  small  whirlpools  and  counter  cur- 
rents, but  unbroken  by  foam,  and  so  still  that  scarcely  the 
sound  of  a  ripple  was  heard.  The  rock,  for  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  river,  was  worn  over  a  large  portion  of  its 
surface  into  circular  holes  and  well-like  cavities,  by  the  abra- 
sion of  the  river,  which,  at  the  season  of  high  waters,  is  spread 
out  over  the  adjoining  bottoms. 

In  the  recent  passage  through  this  chasm,  an  unfortunate 
event  had  occurred  to  Mr.  Applegate's  party,  in  the  loss  of  one 
of  their  boats,  which  had  been  carried  under  water  in  the  midst 
of  the  Dalles,  and  two  of  Mr.  Applegate's  children  and  one 
man  drowned.  This  misfortune  was  attributed  only  to  want 
of  skill  in  the  steersman,  as  at  this  season  there  was  no  impedi- 
ment to  navigation  ;  although  the  place  is  entirely  impassable 
at  high  water,  when  boats  pass  safely  over  the  great  falls  above, 
in  the  submerged  state  in  which  they  then  find  themselves. 

The  basalt  here  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  which  consti- 
tutes the  rock  of  the  valley  higher  up  the  Columbia,  being  very 
compact,  with  a  few  round  cavities. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  257 

We  passed  rapidly  three  or  four  miles  down  the  level  valley 
and  encamped  near  the  mission.  The  character  of  the  forest 
growth  here  changes,  and  we  found  ourselves,  with  pleasure, 
again  among  oaks  and  other  forest-trees  of  the  east,  to  which 
we  had  long  been  strangers ;  and  the  hospitable  and  kind  re- 
ception with  which  we  were  welcomed  among  our  country 
people  at  the  mission,  aided  the  momentary  illusion  of  home. 

Two  good-looking  wooden  dwelling-houses,  and  a  large 
schoolhouse,  with  stables,  barn,  and  garden,  and  large  cleared 
fields  between  the  houses  and  the  river  bank,  on  which  were 
scattered  the  wooden  huts  of  an  Indian  village,  gave  to  the 
valley  the  cheerful  and  busy  air  of  civilization,  and  had  in  our 
eyes  an  appearance  of  abundant  and  enviable  comfort. 

Our  land  journey  found  here  its  western  termination.  The 
delay  involved  in  getting  our  camp  to  the  right  bank  of  th# 
Columbia,  and  in  opening  a  road  through  the  continuous  fores' 
to  Vancouver,  rendered  a  journey  along  the  river  impractica 
ble ;  and  on  this  side  the  usual  road  across  the  mountain  re- 
quired,  strong  and  fresh  animals,  there  being  an  interval  of  three 
days  in  which  they  could  obtain  no  food.  I  therefore  wrote 
immediately  to  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  directing  him  to  abandon  the 
carts  at  the  Walahwalah  missionary  station,  and,  as  soon  as 
the  necessary  pack-saddles  could  be  made,  which  his  party  re- 
quired, meet  me  at  the  Dalles,  from  which  point  I  proposed  to 
commence  our  homeward  journey.  The  day  after  our  arrival 
being  Sunday,  no  business  could  be  done  at  the  mission ;  but 
on  Monday,  Mr.  Perkins  assisted  me  in  procuring  from  the 
Indians  a  large  canoe,  in  which  I  designed  to  complete  our 
journey  to  Vancouver,  where  I  expected  to  obtain  the  necessary 
supply  of  provisions  and  stores  for  our  winter  journey.  Three 
Indians,  from  the  family  to  whom  the  canoe  belonged,  were 
engaged  to  assist  in  working  her  during  the  voyage,  and,  with 
them,  our  water  party  consisted  of  Mr.  Preuss  and  myself, 
with  Bernier  and  Jacob  Dodson.  In  charge  of  the  party  which 
was  to  remain  at  the  Dalles  I  left  Carson,  with  instructions  to 
occupy  the  people  in  making  pack-saddles  and  refitting  their 
equipage.  The  village  from  which  we  were  to  take  the  canoe 
was  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  about  ten  miles  below,  at 


258  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

the  mouth  of  the  Tinanens  creek ;  and  while  Mr.  Preuss  pro- 
ceeded down  the  river  with  the  instruments,  in  a  little  canoe 
paddled  by  two  Indians,  Mr.  Perkins  accompanied  me  with 
the  remainder  of  the  party  by  land.  The  last  of  the  emigrants 
had  just  left  the  Dalles  at  the  time  of  our  arrival,  traveling 
some  by  water  and  others  by  land,  making  ark-like  rafts,  on 
which  they  had  embarked  their  families  and  households,  with 
their  large  wagons  and  other  furniture,  while  their  stock  were 
driven  along  the  shore. 

For  about  five  miles  below  the  Dalles,  the  river  is  narrow, 
and  probably  very  deep ;  but  during  this  distance  it  is  some- 
what open,  with  grassy  bottoms  on  the  left.  Entering,  then, 
among  the  lower  mountains  of  the  Cascade  range,  it  assumes 
a  general  character,  and  high  and  steep  rocky  hills  shut  it  in 
on  either  side,  rising  abruptly  in  places  to  the  height  of  fifteen 
hundred  feet  above  the  water,  and  gradually  acquiring  a 
more  mountainous  character  as  the  river  approaches  the 
Cascades. 

After  an  hour's  travel,  when  the  sun  was  nearly  down,  we 
searched  along  the  shore  for  a  pleasant  place,  and  halted  to 
prepare  supper.  We  had  been  well  supplied  by  our  friends  at 
the  mission  with  delicious  salted  salmon,  which  had  been  taken 
at  the  fattest  season ;  also,  with  potatoes,  bread,  coffee,  and 
sugar.  We  were  delighted  at  a  change  in  our  mode  of  travel- 
ing and  living.  The  canoe  sailed  smoothly  down  the  river ; 
at  night  we  encamped  upon  the  shore,  and  a  plentiful  supply 
of  comfortable  provisions  supplied  the  first  of  wants.  We  en- 
joyed the  contrast  which  it  presented  to  our  late  toilsome  march- 
ings, our  night  watchings,  and  our  frequent  privation  of  food. 
We  were  a  motley  group,  but  all  happy :  three  unknown  In- 
dians ;  Jacob,  a  colored  man  ;  Mr.  Preuss,  a  German  ;  Bernier, 
Creole  French  ;  and  myself. 

Being  now  upon  the  ground  explored  by  the  South  Sea 
expedition  under  Captain  Wilkes,  and  having  accomplished 
the  object  of  uniting  my  survey  with  his,  and  thus  presenting 
a  connected  exploration  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific, 
and  the  winter  being  at  hand,  I  deemed  it  necessary  to  econo- 
mize time  by  voyaging  in  the  night,  as  is  customary  here,  to 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  259 

avoid  the  high  winds,  which  rise  with  the  morning,  and  decline 
with  the  day. 

I  Accordingly,  after  an  hour's  halt,  we  again  embarked,  and 
resumed  our  pleasant  voyage  down  the  river.  The  wind  rose 
to  a  gale  after  several  hours ;  but  the  moon  was  very  bright, 
and  the  wind  was  fair,  and  the  canoe  glanced  rapidly  down  the 
stream,  the  waves  breaking  into  foam  alongside  ;  and  our  night 
voyage,  as  the  wind  bore  us  rapidly  along  between  the  dark 
mountains,  was  wild  and  interesting.  About  midnight  we  put 
to  the  shore  on  a  rocky  beach,  behind  which  was  a  dark-look- 
ing  pine  forest.  We  built  up  large  fires  among  the  rocks, 
which  were  in  large  masses  round  about ;  and,  arranging  our 
blankets  on  the  most  sheltered  places  we  could  find,  passed  a 
delightful  night. 

After  an  early  breakfast,  at  daylight  we  resumed  our  jour- 
ney, the  weather  being  clear  and  beautiful,  and  the  river 
smooth  and  still.  On  either  side  the  mountains  are  all  pine- 
timbered,  rocky,  and  high.  We  were  now  approaching  one 
of  the  marked  features  of  the  lower  Columbia  where  the  river 
forms  a  great  cascade,  with  a  series  of  rapids,  in  breaking 
through  the  range  of  mountains  to  which  the  lofty  peaks  of 
Mount  Hood  and  St.  Helens  belong,  and  which  rise  as  great 
pillars  of  snow  on  either  side  of  the  passage.  The  main 
branch  of  the  Sacramento  river,  and  the  Tlamath,  issue  in 
cascades  from  this  range ;  and  the  Columbia,  breaking  through 
it  in  a  succession  of  cascades,  gives  the  idea  of  cascades  to 
the  whole  range ;  and  hence  the  name  of  CASCADE  RANGE, 
which  it  bears,  and  distinguishes  it  from  the  Coast  Range  lower 
down.  In  making  a  short  turn  to  the  south,  the  river  forms 
the  cascades  in  breaking  over  a  point  of  agglomerated  masses 
of  rock,  leaving  a  handsome  bay  to  the  right,  with  several 
rocky,  pine-covered  islands,  and  the  mountains  sweep  at  a  dis- 
tance around  a  cove  where  several  small  streams  enter  the 
bay.  In  less  than  an  hour  we  halted  on  the  left  bank,  about 
five  minutes'  walk  above  the  cascades,  where  there  were  several 
Indian  huts,  and  where  our  guides  signified  it  was  customary 
to  hire  Indians  to  assist  in  making  the  portage.  When  travel- 
ing with  a  boat  as  light  as  a  canoe,  which  may  easily  be  car. 


260  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

ried  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Indians,  this  is  much  the  better 
side  of  the  river  for  the  portage,  as  the  ground  here  is  very 
good  and  level,  being  a  handsome  bottom,  which  I  remarked 
was  covered  (as  was  now  always  the  case  along  the  river)  with 
a  growth  of  green  and  fresh-looking  grass.  It  was  long  be- 
fore we  could  come  to  an  understanding  with  the  Indians ;  but 
to  length,  when  they  had  first  received  the  price  of  their  assist- 
ance in  goods,  they  went  vigorously  to  work  ;  and,  in  a  shorter 
time  than  had  been  occupied  in  making  our  arrangements,  the 
canoe,  instruments,  and  baggage,  were  carried  through  (a 
distance  of  about  half  a  mile)  to  the  bank  below  the  main 
cascade,  where  we  again  embarked,  the  water  being  white 
with  foam  among  ugly  rocks,  and  boiling  into  a  thousand  whirl- 
pools.  The  boat  passed  with  great  rapidity,  crossing  and  re- 
crossing  in  the  eddies  of  the  current.  After  passing  through 
about  two  miles  of  broken  water,  we  ran  some  wild- looking 
rapids,  which  are  called  the  Lower  Rapids,  being  the  last  on 
the  river,  which  below  is  tranquil  and  smooth — a  broad,  mag- 
nificent stream.  On  a  low  broad  point  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  at  the  lower  end  of  these  rapids,  were  pitched  many 
tents  of  the  emigrants,  who  were  waiting  here  for  their  friends 
from  above,  or  for  boats  and  provisions  which  were  expected 
from  Vancouver.  In  our  passage  down  the  rapids,  I  had 
noticed  their  camps  along  the  shore,  or  transporting  their 
goods  across  the  portage.  This  portage  makes  a  head  of  navi- 
gation, ascending  the  river.  It  is  about  two  miles  in  length  ; 
and  above,  to  the  Dalles,  is  45  miles  of  smooth  and  good  navi- 
gation. 

We  glided  on  without*  further  interruption  between  very 
rocky  and  high  steep  mountains,  which  sweep  along  the  river 
valley  at  a  little  distance,  covered  with  forests  of  pine,  and 
showing  occasionally  lofty  escarpments  of  red  rock.  Nearer, 
the  shore  is  bordered  by  steep  escarped  hills  and  huge  vertical 
rocks,  from  which  the  waters  of  the  mountain  reach  the  river 
in  a  variety  of  beautiful  falls,  sometimes  several  hundred  feet 
in  height.  Occasionally  along  the  river  occurred  pretty  bot- 
toms, covered  with,  the  greenest  verdure  of  the  spring.  To  a 
professional  farmer,  however,  it  does  not  offer  many  places  of 


.0 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  261 

sufficient  extent  to  be  valuable  for  agriculture ;  and  after 
passing  a  few  miles  below  the  Dalles,  I  had  scarcely  seen  a 
place  on  the  south  shore  where  wagons  could  get  to  the  river. 
The  beauty  of  the  scenery  was  heightened  by  the  continuance 
of  very  delightful  weather,  resembling  the  Indian  summer  of 
the  Atlantic.  A  few  miles  below  the  cascades  we  passed  a 
singular  isolated  hill ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  next  six  miles 
occurred  five  very  pretty  falls  from  the  heights  on  the  left 
bank,  one  of  them  being  of  a  very  picturesque  character;  and 
towards  sunset  we  reached  a  remarkable  point  of  rocks,  distin- 
guished, on  account  of  prevailing  high  winds,  and  the  delay  it 
frequently  occasions  to  the  canoe  navigation,  by  the  name  of 
Cape  Horn.  It  borders  the  river  in  a  high  wall  of  rock,  which 
comes  boldly  down  into  deep  water ;  and  in  violent  gales  down 
the  river,  and  from  the  opposite  shore,  which  is  the  prevailing 
direction  of  strong  winds,  the  water  is  dashed  against  it  with 
considerable  violence.  It  appears  to  form  a  serious  obstacle 
to  canoe  traveling ;  and  I  was  informed  by  Mr.  Perkins,  that 
in  a  voyage  up  the  river  he  had  been  detained  two  weeks  at 
this  place,  and  was  finally  obliged  to  return  to  Vancouver. 

The  winds  of  this  region  deserve  a  particular  study.  They 
blow  in  currents,  which  show  them  to  be  governed  by  fixed 
laws ;  and  it  is  a  problem  how  far  they  may  come  from  the 
mountains,  or  from  the  ocean  through  the  breaks  in  the  moun- 
tains which  let  out  the  river. 

The  hills  here  had  lost  something  of  their  rocky  appearance, 
and  had  already  begun  to  decline.  As  the  sun  went  down, 
we  searched  along  the  river  for  an  inviting  spot ;  and,  finding 
a  clean  rocky  beach,  where  some  large  dry  trees  were  lying 
on  the  ground,  we  ran  our  boat  to  the  shore  ;  and,  after  another 
comfortable  supper,  ploughed  our  way  along  the  river  in  dark- 
ness. Heavy  clouds  covered  the  sky  this  evening,  and  the 
wind  began  to  sweep  in  'btists  among  the  trees,  as  if  bad  weather 
were  coming.  As  we  advanced,  the  hills  on  both  sides  grew 
constantly  lower ;  on  the  right,  retreating  from  the  shore,  and 
forming  a  somewhat  extensive  bottom  of  intermingled  prairie 
and  wooded  land.  In  the  course  of  a  few  hours,  and  opposite 
to  a  small  stream  coming  in  from  the  north,  called  the  Tea 


262  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

Prairie  river,  the  highlands  on  the  left  declined  to  the  plains, 
and  three  or  four  miles  more  disappeared  entirely  on  both  sides, 
and  the  river  entered  the  low  country.  The  river  had  gradu- 
ally expanded ;  and  when  we  emerged  from  the  highlands,  the 
opposite  shores  were  so  distant  as  to  appear  indistinct  in  the 
uncertainty  of  the  light.  About  ten  o'clock  our  pilots  halted, 
apparently  to  confer  about  the  course ;  and,  after  a  little  hesi- 
tation, pulled  directly  across  an  open  expansion  of  the  river, 
where  the  waves  were  somewhat  rough  for  a  canoe,  the  wind 
blowing  very  fresh.  Much  to  our  surprise,  a  few  minutes  af- 
terwards we  ran  aground.  Backing  off  our  boat,  we  made 
repeated  trials  at  various  places  to  cross  what  appeared  to  be  a 
point  of  shifting  sand-bars,  where  we  had  attempted  to  shorten 
the  way  by  a  cut-off.  Finally,  one  of  our  Indians  got  into  the 
water,  and  waded  about  until  he  found  a  channel  sufficiently 
deep,  through  which  we  wound  along  after  him,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  again  entered  the  deep  water  below.  As  we  paddled 
rapidly  down  the  river  j  we  heard  the  noise  of  a  saw-mill  at 
work  on  the  right  bank  ;  and,  letting  our  boat  float  quietly 
down,  we  listened  with  pleasure  to  the  unusual  sounds,  and 
before  midnight,  encamped  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  about  a 
mile  above  Fort  Vancouver.  Our  fine  dry  weather  had  given 
place  to  a  dark  cloudy  night.  At  midnight  it  began  to  rain  ; 
and  we  found  ourselves  suddenly  in  the  gloomy  and  humid 
season,  which,  in  the  narrow  region  lying  between  the  Pacific 
and  the  Cascade  mountains,  and  for  a  considerable  distance 
along  the  coast,  supplies  the  place  of  winter. 

In  the  morning,  the  first  object  that  attracted  my  attention 
was  the  barque  Columbia,  lying  at  anchor  near  the  landing. 
She  was  about  to  start  on  a  voyage  to  England,  and  was  now 
ready  for  sea ;  being  detained  only  in  waiting  the  arrival  of 
the  express  bateaux,  which  descend  the  Columbia  and  its  north 
fork  with  the  overland  mail  from  Canada  and  Hudson's  Bay, 
which  had  been  delayed  beyond  the  usual  time.  I  immediately 
waited  upon  Dr.  McLaughlin,  the  executive  officer  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  in  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, who  received  me  with  the  courtesy  and  hospitality  for 
which  he  has  been  eminently  distinguished,  and  which  makes 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  263 

a  forcible  and  delightful  impression  on  a  traveler  from  the  long 
wilderness  from  which  we  had  issued.  I  was  immediately 
supplied  by  him  with  the  necessary  stores  and  provisions  to  re- 
fit  and  support  my  party  in  our  contemplated  winter  journey 
to  the  States ;  and  also  with  a  Mackinaw  boat  and  canoes, 
manned  with  Canadian  and  Iroquois  voyageurs  and  Indians, 
for  their  transportation  to  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  efficient  kindness  in  furnishing  me  with  these 
necessary  supplies,  I  received  from  him  a  warm  and  gratifying 
sympathy  in  the  suffering  which  his  great  experience  led  him 
to  anticipate  for  us  in  our  homeward  journey,  and  a  letter  of 
recommendation  and  credit  for  any  officers  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  into  whose  posts  we  might  be  driven  by  unexpected 
misfortune. 

Of  course,  the  future  supplies  for  my  party  were  paid  for, 
bills  on  the  Government  of  the  United  States  being  readily 
taken ;  but  every  hospitable  attention  was  extended  to  me,  and 
I  accepted  an  invitation  to  take  a  room  in  the  fort,  "  and  to 
make  myself  at  home  while  I  stayed." 

I  found  many  American  emigrants  at  the  fort ;  others  had 
already  crossed  the  river  into  their  land  of  promise — the  Wa- 
lahmette  valley.  Others  were  daily  arriving ;  and  all  of  them 
have  been  furnished  with  shelter,  so  far  as  it  could  be  afforded 
by  the  buildings  connected  with  the  establishment.  Necessary 
clothing  and  provisions  (the  latter  to  be  returned  in  kind  from 
the  produce  of  their  labor)  were  also  furnished.  This  friendly 
assistance  was  of  very  great  value  to  the  emigrants,  whose 
families  were  otherwise  exposed  to  much  suffering  in  the 
winter  rains,  which  had  now  commenced ;  at  the  same  time 
they  were  in  want  of  all  the  common  necessaries  of  life. 
Those  who  had  taken  a  water  conveyance  at  the  Nez  Perce 
fort  continued  to  arrive  safely,  with  no  other  accident  than  has 
been  already  mentioned.  The  party  which  had  crossed  over 
the  Cascade  mountains  were  reported  to  have  lost  a  number  of 
their  animals ;  and  those  who  had  driven  their  stock  down  the 
Columbia  had  brought  them  safely  in,  and  found  for  them  a 
ready  and  very  profitable  market,  and  were  already  proposing 
to  return  to  the  States  in  the  spring  for  another  supply. 


264  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

In  the  space  of  two  days  our  preparations  had  been  com- 
pleted, and  we  were  ready  to  set  out  on  our  return.  It  would 
have  been  very  gratifying  to  have  gone  down  to  the  Pacific, 
and,  solely  in  the  interest  and  love  of  geography,  to  have  seen 
the  ocean  on  the  western  as  well  as  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  continent,  so  as  to  give  a  satisfactory  completeness  to  the 
geographical  picture  which  had  been  formed  in  our  minds ; 
but  the  rainy  season  had  now  regularly  set  in,  and  the  air  was 
filled  with  fogs  and  rain,  which  left  no  beauty  in  any  scenery, 
and  obstructed  observations.  The  object  of  my  instructions 
had  been  entirely  fulfilled  in  having  connected  our  reconnois- 
sance  with  the  surveys  of  Captain  Wilkes ;  and  although  it 
would  have  been  agreeable  and  satisfactory  to  terminate  here 
also  our  ruder  astronomical  observations,  I  was  not,  for  such  a 
reason,  justified  to  make  a  delay  in  waiting  for  favorable 
weather. 

Near  sunset  of  the  10th,  the  boats  left  the  fort,  and  encamped 
after  making  only  a  few  miles.  Our  flotilla  consisted  of  a 
Mackinaw  barge  and  three  canoes — one  of  them  that  in  which 
we  had  descended  the  river ;  and  a  party  in  all  of  twenty  men. 
One  of  the  emigrants,  Mr.  Burnet,  of  Missouri,  who  had  left 
his  family  and  property  at  the  Dalles,  availed  himself  of  the 
opportunity  afforded  by  the  return  of  our  boats  to  bring  them 
down  to  Vancouver.  This  gentleman,  as  well  as  the  Messrs. 
Applegate,  and  others  of  the  emigrants  whom  I  saw,  possessed 
intelligence  and  character,  with  the  moral  and  intellectual 
stamina,  as  well  as  the  enterprise,  which  give  solidity  and 
respectability  to  the  foundation  of  colonies. 

llth. — The  morning  was  rainy  and  misty.  We  did  not 
move  with  the  practised  celerity  of  my  own  camp ;  and  it  was 
nearly  nine  o'clock  when  our  motley  crew  had  finished  their 
breakfast  and  were  ready  to  start.  Once  afloat,  however,  they 
worked  steadily  and  well,  and  we  advanced  at  a  good  rate  up 
the  river;  and  in  the  afternoon  a  breeze  sprung  up,  which 
enabled  us  to  add  a  sail  to  the  oars.  At  evening  we  encamped 
on  a  warm-looking  beach,  on  the  right  bank,  at  the  foot  of  the 
high  river-hill,  immediately  at  the  lower  end  of  Cape  Horn. 
On  the  opposite  shore  is  said  to  be  a  singular  hole  in  the  moun- 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  265 

tain,  from  which  the  Indians  believe  comes  the  wind  producing 
these  gales.  It  is  called  the  Devil's  hole  ;  and  the  Indians,  I 
was  told,  had  been  resolving  to  send  down  one  of  their  slaves 
to  explore  the  region  below.  At  dark,  the  wind  shifted  into 
its  stormy  quarter,  gradually  increasing  to  a  gale  from  the 
^southwest ;  and  the  sky  becoming  clear,  I  obtained  a  good 
observation  of  an  emersion  of  the  first  satellite ;  the  result  of 
which  being  an  absolute  observation,  I  have  adopted  for  the 
longitude  of  the  place. 

12th. — The  wind  during  the  night  had  increased  to  so  much 
violence,  that  the  broad  river  this  morning  was  angry  and 
white ;  the  waves  breaking  with  considerable  force  against 
this  rocky  wall  of  the  cape.  Our  old  Iroquois  pilot  was  un- 
willing to  risk  the  boats  around  the  point,  and  I  was  not  dis- 
posed to  hazard  the  stores  of  our  voyage  for  the  delay  of  a  day. 
Further  observations  were  obtained  during  the  day,  giving  for 
the  latitude  of  the  place  45°  33'  09" ;  and  the  longitude  ob- 
tained from  the  satellite  is  122°  6'  15". 

13th. — We  had  a  day  of  disagreeable  and  cold  rain,  and, 
late  in  the  afternoon,  began  to  approach  the  rapids  of  the  cas- 
cades. There  is  here  a  high  timbered  island  on  the  left  shore, 
below  which,  in  descending,  I  had  remarked,  in  a  bluff  of  the 
river,  the  extremities  of  trunks  of  trees,  appearing  to  be  im- 
bedded in  the  rock.  Landing  here  this  afternoon,  I  found,  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  escarpment,  a  stratum  of  coal  and  forest- 
trees,  imbedded  between  strata  of  altered  clay,  containing  the 
remains  of  vegetables,  the  leaves  of  which  indicate  that  the 
plants  were  dicotyledonous.  Among  these,  the  stems  of  some 
of  the  ferns  are  not  mineralized,  but  merely  charred,  retaining 
still  their  vegetable  structure  and  substance ;  and  in  this  con- 
dition a  portion  also  of  the  trees  remain.  The  indurated  ap- 
pearance and  compactness  of  the  strata,  as  well,  perhaps,  as 
the  mineralized  condition  of  the  coal,  are  probably  due  to  ig- 
neous action.  Some  portions  of  the  coal  precisely  resemble 
in  aspect  the  canal  coal  of  England,  and,  with  the  accompany- 
ing fossils,  have  been  referred  to  the  tertiary  formation. 

These  strata  appear  to  rest  upon  a  mass  of  agglomerated 
rock,  being  but  a  few  feet  above  the  water  of  the  river ;  and 
12 


266  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

over  them  is  the  escarpment  of  perhaps  80  feet,  rising  gradu- 
ally in  the  rear  towards  the  mountains.  The  wet  and  cold 
evening,  and  near  approach  of  night,  prevented  me  from  ma- 
king any  other  than  a  slight  examination. 

The  current  was  now  very  swift,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
cordette  the  boat  along  the  left  shore,  where  the  bank  was  cov- 
ered with  large  masses  of  rocks.  Night  overtook  us  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  island,  a  short  distance  below  the  cascades, 
and  we  halted  on  the  open  point.  In  the  mean  time,  the  lighter 
canoes,  paddled  altogether  by  Indians,  had  passed  ahead,  and 
were  out  of  sight.  With  them  was  the  lodge,  which  was  the 
only  shelter  we  had,  with  most  of  the  bedding  and  provisions. 
We  shouted,  and  fired  guns ;  but  all  to  no  purpose,  as  it  was 
impossible  for  them  to  hear  above  the  roar  of  the  river ;  and 
we  remained  all  night  without  shelter,  the  rain  pouring  down 
all  the  time.  The  old  voyageurs  did  not  appear  to  mind  it 
much,  but  covered  themselves  up  as  well  as  they  could,  and 
lay  down  on  the  sand-beach,  where  they  remained  quiet  until 
morning.  The  rest  of  us  spent  a  rather  miserable  night ;  and, 
to  add  to  our  discomfort,  the  incessant  rain  extinguished  our 
fires  ;  and  we  were  glad  when  at  last  daylight  appeared,  and 
we  again  embarked. 

Crossing  to  the  right  bank,  we  cordelled  the  boat  along  the 
shore,  there  being  no  longer  any  use  of  the  paddles,  and  put 
into  a  little  bay  below  the  upper  rapids.  Here  we  found  a 
lodge/ pitched,  and  about  20  Indians  sitting  around  a  blazing 
fire  within,  making  a  luxurious  breakfast  with  salmon,  bread, 
butter,  sugar,  coffee,  and  other  provisions.  In  the  forest,  on 
the  edge  of  the  high  bluff  overlooking  the  river,  is  an  Indian 
graveyard,  consisting  of  a  collection  of  tombs,  in  each  of  which 
were  the  scattered  bones  .of  many  skeletons.  The  tombs  were 
made  of  boards,  which  were  ornamented  with  many  figures  of 
men  and  animals  of  the  natural  size — from  their  appearance, 
constituting  the  armorial  device  by  which,  among  Indians,  the 
chiefs  are  usually  known. 

The  masses  of  rock  displayed  along  the  shores  of  the  ravine 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cascades,  are  clearly  volcanic  pro- 
ducts. Between  this  cove,  which  I  called  Graveyard  bay,  and 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  267 

another  spot  of  smooth  water  above,  on  the  right,  called  Luders 
bay,  sheltered  by  a  jutting  point  of  huge  rocky  masses  at  the 
foot  of  the  cascades,  the  shore  along  the  intervening  rapids  is 
lined  with  precipices  of  distinct  strata  of  red  and  variously- 
colored  lavas,  in  inclined  positions. 

The  masses  of  rock  forming  the  point  at  Luders  bay  consist 
of  a  porous  trap,  or  basalt — a  volcanic  product  of  a  modern 
period.  The  rocks  belong  to  agglomerated  masses,  which 
form  the  immediate  ground  of  the  cascades,  and  have  been 
already  mentioned  as  constituting  a  bed  of  cemented  conglom- 
erate rocks,  appearing  at  various  places  along  the  river. 
Here  they  are  scattered  along  the  shores,  and  through  the 
bed  of  the  river,  wearing  the  character  of  convulsion,  which 
forms  the  impressive  and  prominent  feature  of  the  river  at  this 
place. 

Wherever  we  came  in  contact  with  the  rocks  of  these  moun- 
tains, we  found  them  volcanic,  which  is  probably  the  charac- 
ter of  the  range  ;  and  at  this  time,  two  of  the  great  snowy 
cones,  Mount  Regnier  and  St.  Helens,  were  in  action.  On 
the  23d  of  the  preceding  November,  St.  Helens  had  scattered 
its  ashes,  like  a  white  fall  of  snow,  over  the  Dalles  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, 50  miles  distant.  A  specimen  of  these  ashes  was 
given  to  me  by  Mr.  Brewer,  one  of  the  clergymen  at  the 
Dalles. 

The  lofty  range  of  the  Cascade  mountains  forms  a  distinct 
boundary  between  the  opposite  climates  of  the  regions  along 
its  western  and  eastern  bases.  On  the  west,  they  present  a 
barrier  to  the  clouds  of  fog  and  rain  which  roll  up  from  the 
Pacific  ocean  and  beat  against  their  rugged  sides,  forming  the 
rainy  season  of  the  winter  in  the  country  along  the  coast. 
Into  the  brighter  skies  of  the  region  along  their  eastern  base, 
this  rainy  winter  never  penetrates ;  and  at  the  Dalles  of  the 
Columbia  the  rainy  season  is  unknown,  the  brief  winter  being 
limited  to  a  period  of  about  two  months,  during  which  the  earth 
is  covered  with  the  slight  snows  of  a  climate  remarkably  mild 
for  so  high  a  latitude.  The  Cascade  range  has  an  average 
distance  of  about  130  miles  from  the  sea-coast.  It  extends  far 
both  north  and  south  of  the  Columbia,  and  is  indicated  to  the 


268  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nor. 

distant  observer,  both  in  course  and  position,  by  the  lofty  vol- 
canic peaks  which  rise  out  of  it,  and  which  are  visible  to  an 
immense  distance. 

During  several  days  of  constant  rain,  it  kept  our  whole  force 
laboriously  employed  in  getting  our  barge  and  canoes  to  the 
upper  end  of  the  Cascades.  The  portage  ground  was  occu- 
pied by  emigrant  families  ;  their  thin  and  insufficient  clothing, 
bareheaded  and  barefooted  children,  attesting  the  length  of 
their  journey,  and  showing  that  they  had,  in  many  instances, 
set  out  without  a  due  preparation  of  what  was  indispensable. 

A  gentleman  named  Luders,  a  botanist  from  the  city  of 
Hamburg,  arrived  at  the  bay  I  have  called  by  his  name  while 
we  were  occupied  in  bringing  up  the  boats.  I  was  delighted 
to  meet  at  such  a  place  a  man  of  kindred  pursuits ;  but  we 
had  only  the  pleasure  of  a  brief  conversation,  as  his  canoe, 
under  the  guidance  of  two  Indians,  was  about  to  run  the  rapids; 
and  I  could  not  enjoy  the  satisfaction  of  regaling  him  with  a 
breakfast,  which,  after  his  recent  journey,  would  have  been  an 
extraordinary  luxury.  All  of  his  few  instruments  and  bag- 
gage were  in  the  canoe,  and  he  hurried  around  by  land  to  meet 
it  at  the  Graveyard  bay ;  but  he  was  scarcely  out  of  sight, 
when,  by  the  carelessness  of  the  Indians,  the  boat  was  drawn 
into  the  midst  of  the  rapids,  and  glanced  down  the  river,  bot- 
tom up,  with  a  loss  of  every  thing  it  contained.  In  the  natural 
concern  I  felt  for  his  misfortune,  I  gave  to  the  little  cove  the 
name  of  Luders  bay. 

15th. — We  continued  to-day  our  work  at  the  portage. 

About  noon,  the  two  barges  of  the  express  from  Montreal 
arrived  at  the  upper  portage  landing,  which,  for  large  boats,  is 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  They  were  a  fine-looking 
crew,  and  among  them  I  remarked  a  fresh-looking  woman 
and  her  daughter,  emigrants  from  Canada. '  It  was  satisfactory 
to  see  the  order  and  speed  with  which  these  experienced  water- 
men effected  the  portage,  and  passed  their  boats  over  the  cas- 
cades. They  had  arrived  at  noon,  and  in  the  evening  they 
expected  to  reach  Vancouver.  These  bateaux  carry  the  ex- 
press of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  to  the  highest  navigable 
point  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Columbia,  whence  it  is  car- 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  269 

ried  by  an  overland  party  to  Lake  Winipec,  where  it  is 
divided  ;  part  going  to  Montreal,  and  part  to  Hudson  Bay. 
Thus  a  regular  communication  is  kept  up  between  three  very 
remote  points. 

The  Canadian  emigrants  were  much  chagrined  at  the  change 
of  climate,  and  informed  me  that,  only  a  few  miles  above,  they 
had  left  a  country  of  bright  blue  sky  and  a  shining  sun.  The 
next  morning  the  upper  parts  of  the  mountains  which  directly 
overlook  the  cascades,  were  white  with  the  freshly  fallen  snow, 
while  it  continued  to  rain  steadily  below. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  finished  the  portage,  and,  embarking 
again,  moved  a  little  distance  up  the  right  bank,  in  order  to 
clear  the  smaller  rapids  of  the  cascades,  and  have  a  smooth 
river  for  the  next  morning.  Though  we  made  but  a  few  miles, 
the  weather  Improved  immediately ;  and  though  the  rainy 
country  and  the  cloudy  mountains  were  close  behind,  before 
us  was  the  bright  sky  ;  so  distinctly  is  climate  here  marked  by 
a  mountain  boundary. 

17th.— -We  had  to-day  an  opportunity  to  complete  the 
sketch  of  that  portion  of  the  river  down  which  we  had  come 
by  night. 

Many  places  occur  along  the  river,  where  the  stumps,  or 
rather  portions  of  the  trunks  of  pine-trees,  are  standing  along 
the  shore,  and  in  the  water,  where  they  may  be  seen  at  a  con- 
siderable depth  below  the  surface,  in  the  beautifully  clear  water. 
These  collections  of  dead  trees  are  called  on  the  Columbia  the 
submerged  forest,  and  are  supposed  to  have  been  created  by  the 
effects  of  some  convulsion  which  formed  the  cascades,  and 
which,  by  damming  up  the  river,  placed  these  trees  under 
water  and  destroyed  them.  But  I  venture  to  presume  that  the 
cascades  are  older  than  the  trees ;  and  as  these  submerged 
forests  occur  at  five  or  six  places  along  the  river,  I  had  an  op- 
portunity to  satisfy  myself  that  they  have  been  formed  by 
immense  land-slides  from  the  mountains,  which  here  closely 
shut  in  the  river,  and  which  brought  down  with  them  into  the 
river  the  pines  of  the  mountain.  At  one  place,  on  the  right 
bank,  I  remarked  a  place  where  a  portion  of  one  of  these 
slides  seemed  to  have  planted  itself,  with  all  the  evergreen 


270  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

foliage,  and  the  vegetation  of  the  neighboring  hill,  directly 
amidst  the  falling  and  yellow  leaves  of  the  river  trees.  It  oc- 
curred to  me  that  this  would  have  been  a  beautiful  illustration 
to  the  eye  of  a  botanist. 

Following  the  course  of  a  slide,  which  was  very  plainly 
marked  along  the  mountain,  I  found  that  in  the  interior  parts 
the  trees  were  in  their  usual  erect  position  ;  but  at  the  extremity 
of  the  slide  they  were  rocked  about,  and  thrown  into  a  confusion 
of  inclinations. 

About  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  passed  a  sandy  bar  in 
the  river,  whence  we  had  an  unexpected  view  of  Mount  Hood, 
bearing  directly  south  by  compass. 

During  the  day  we  used  oar  and  sail,  and  at  night  had 
again  a  delightful  camping  ground,  and  a  dry  place  to  sleep 
upon. 

18th.— The  day  again  was  pleasant  and  bright.  At  10 
o'clock  we  passed  a  rock  island,  on  the  right  shore  of  the 
river,  which  the  Indians  use  as  a  burial-ground  ;  and  halting 
for  a  short  time,  about  an  hour  afterwards,  at  the  village  of 
our  Indian  friends,  early  in  the  afternoon  we  arrived  again  at 
the  Dalles. 

Carson  had  removed  the  camp  up  the  river  a  little  nearer 
to  the  hills,  where  the  animals  had  better  grass.  We  found 
every  thing  in  good  order,  and  arrived  just  in  time  to  partake 
of  an  excellent  roast  of  California  beef.  My  friend,  Mr. 
Gilpin,  had  arrived  in  advance  of  the  party.  His  object  in 
visiting  this  country  had  been  to  obtain  correct  information 
of  the  Walahmette  settlements ;  and  he  had  reached  this 
point  in  his  journey,  highly  pleased  with  the  country  over 
which  he  had  traveled,  and  with  invigorated  health.  On  the 
following  day  he  continued  his  journey,  in  our  returning  boats, 
to  Vancouver. 

The  camp  was  now  occupied  in  making  the  necessary  pre- 
parations for  our  homeward  journey,  which,  though  homeward, 
contemplated  a  new  route,  and  a  great  circuit  to  the  south  and 
southeast,  and  the  exploration  of  the  Great  Basin  between  the 
Rocky  mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada.  Three  principal 
objects  were  indicated,  by  report  or  by  maps,  as  being  on  this 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  271 

route ;  the  character  or  existence  of  which  I  wished  to  ascer- 
tain, and  which  I  assumed  as  landmarks,  or  leading  points,  on 
the  projected  line  of  return.  The  first  of  these  pbints  was  the 
Tlamath  lake,  on  the  table-land  between  the  head  of  Fall  river, 
which  comes  to  the  Columbia,  and  the  Sacramento,  which  goes 
to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco ;  and  from  which  lake  a  river  of 
the  same  name  makes  its  way  westwardly  direct  to  the  ocean. 
This  lake  and  river  are  often  called  Klamet,  but  I  have  chosen 
to  write  its  name  according  to  the  Indian  pronunciation.  The 
position  of  this  lake,  on  the  line  of  inland  communication  be- 
tween Oregon  and  California ;  its  proximity  to  the  demarca- 
tion boundary  of  latitude  42°  ;  its  imputed  double  character 
of  lake,  or  meadow,  according  to  the  season  of  the  year ;  and 
the  hostile  and  warlike  character  attributed  to  the  Indians 
about  it — all  made  it  a  desirable  object  to  visit  and  examine. 
From  this  lake  our  course  was  intended  to  be  about  southeast, 
to  a  reported  lake  called  Mary's,  at  some  days'  journey  in  the 
Great  Basin ;  and  thence,  still  on  southeast,  to  the  reputed 
Buenaventura  river,  which  has  had  a  place  in  so  many  maps, 
and  countenanced  the  belief  of  the  existence  of  a  great  river 
flowing  from  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  Bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. From  the  Buenaventura  the  next  point  was  intended 
to  be  in  that  section  of  the  Rocky  mountains  which  includes 
the  heads  of  Arkansas  river,  and  of  the  opposite  waters  of  the 
Californian  gulf;  and  thence  down  the  Arkansas  to  Bent's  fort, 
and  home.  This  was  our  projected  line  of  return — a  great 
part  of  it  absolutely  new  to  geographical,  botanical,  and  geolo- 
gical science — and  the  subject  of  reports  in  relation  to  lakes, 
rivers,  deserts,  and  savages  hardly  above  the  condition  of  mere 
wild  animals,  which  inflamed  desire  to  know  what  this  terra 
incognita  really  contained. 

It  was  a  serious  enterprise,  at  the  commencement  of  winter, 
to  undertake  the  traverse  of  such  a  region,  and  with  a  party 
consisting  only  of  twenty-five  persons,  and  they  of  many  na- 
tions—  American,  French,  German,  Canadian,  Indian,  and 
colored — and  most  of  them  young,  several  being  under  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  All  knew  that  a  strange  country  was  to  be 
explored,  and  dangers  and  hardships  to  be  encountered ;  but 


272  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

no  one  blenched  at  the  prospect.  On  the  contrary,  courage 
and  confidence  animated  the  whole  party.  Cheerfulness,  readi- 
ness, subordination,  prompt  obedience,  characterized  all ;  nor 
did  any  extremity  of  peril  and  privation,  to  which  we  were  af- 
terwards exposed,  ever  belie,  or  derogate  from,  the  fine  spirit 
of  this  brave  and  generous  commencement.  The  course  of  the 
narrative  will  show  at  what  point,  and  for  what  reasons,  we 
were  prevented  from  the  complete  execution  of  this  plan,  after 
having  made  considerable  progress  upon  it,  and  how  we  were 
forced  by  desert  plains  and  mountain  ranges,  and  deep  snows, 
far  to  the  south,  and  near  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  along  the 
western  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  where,  indeed,  a  new  and 
ample  field  of  exploration  opened  itself  before  us.  For  the 
present,  we  must  follow  the  narrative,  which  will  first  lead  us 
south  along  the  valley  of  Fall  river,  and  the  eastern  base  of 
the  Cascade  range,  to  the  Tlamath  lake,  from  which,  or  its 
margin,  three  rivers  go  in  three  directions — one  west,  to  the 
ocean ;  another  north,  to  the  Columbia ;  the  third  south,  to 
California. 

For  the  support  of  the  party,  I  had  provided  at  Vancouver  a 
supply  of  provisions  for  not  less  than  three  months,  consisting 
principally  of  flour,  peas,  and  tallow — the  latter  being  used  in 
cooking ;  and,  in  addition  to  this,  I  had  purchased  at  the  mis- 
sion some  California  cattle,  which  were  to  be  driven  on  the 
hoof.  We  had  104  mules  and  horses — part  of  the  latter  pro- 
cured from  the  Indians  about  the  mission ;  and  for  the  susten- 
ance of  which,  our  reliance  was  upon  the  grass  which  we 
should  find,  and  the  soft  porous  wood  which  was  to  be  substi- 
tuted when  there  was  none. 

Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  with  Mr.  Talbot  and  the  remainder  of  the 
party,  arrived  on  the  21st ;  and  the  camp  was  now  closely  en- 
gaged in  the  labor  of  preparation.  Mr.  Perkins  succeeded  in 
obtaining  as  a  guide  to  the  Tlamath  lake  two  Indians — one  of 
whom  had  been  there,  and  bore  the  marks  of  several  wounds 
he  had  received  from  some  of  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  ; 
and  the  other  went  along  for  company.  In  order  to  enable  us 
to  obtain  horses,  he  dispatched  messengers  to  the  various  In- 
dian villages  in  the  neighborhood,  informing  them  that  we  were 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  278 

desirous  to  purchase,  and  appointing  a  day  for  them  to  bring 
them  in. 

We  made,  in  the  mean  time,  several  excursions  in  the  vi- 
cinity. Mr.  Perkins  walked  with  Mr.  Preuss  and  myself  to 
the  heights,  about  nine  miles  distant,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  whence,  in  fine  weather,  an  extensive  view  may  be  had 
orer  the  mountains,  including  seven  great  peaks  of  the  Cas- 
cade range ;  but  clouds,  on  this  occasion,  destroyed  the  antici- 
pated pleasure,  and  we  obtained  bearings  only  to  three  that 
were  visible — Mount  Regnier,  St.  Helens,  and  Mount  Hood. 
On  the  heights,  about  one  mile  south  of  the  mission,  a  very 
fine  view  may  be  had  of  Mount  Hood  and  St.  Helens.  In 
order  to  determine  their  position  with  as  much  accuracy  as 
possible,  the  angular  distances  of  the  peaks  were  measured 
with  the  sextant,  at  different  fixed  points  from  which  they  could 
be  seen. 

The  Indians  brought  in  their  horses  at  the  appointed  time, 
and  we  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  number  in  exchange  for 
goods  ;  but  they  were  relatively  much  higher  here,  where 
goods  are  plenty  and  at  moderate  prices,  than  we  had  found 
them  in  the  more  eastern  part  of  our  voyage.  Several  of  the 
Indians  inquired  very  anxiously  to  know  if  we  had  any  dol- 
lars ;  and  the  horses  we  procured  were  -much  fewer  in  num- 
ber than  I  had  desired,  and  of  thin,  inferior  quality  ;  the  oldest 
and  poorest  being  those  that  were  sold  to  us.  These  horses, 
as  ever  in  our  journey  you  will  have  occasion  to  remark,  are 
valuable  for  hardihood  and  great  endurance. 

24th. — At  this  place  one  of  the  men  was  discharged  ;  and 
at  the  request  of  Mr.  Perkins,  a  Chinook  Indian,  a  lad  of  nine- 
teen, who  was  extremely  desirous  to  "  see  the  whites,"  and 
make  some  acquaintance  with  our  institutions,  was  received 
into  the  party  under  my  special  charge,  with  the  understand- 
ing that  I  would  again  return  him  to  his  friends.  He  had 
lived  for  some  time  in  the  household  of  Mr.  Perkins,  and  spoke 
a  few  words  of  the  English  language. 

25th. — We  were  all  up  early,  in  the  excitement  of  turning 
towards  home.     The  stars  were  brilliant,  and  the  morning 
cold,  the  thermometer  at  daylight  26°. 
12* 


274  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

Our  preparations  had  been  fully  completed,  and  to-day  we 
commenced  our  journey.  The  little  wagon  which  had  hitherto 
carried  the  instruments,  I  judged  it  necessary  to  abandon ;  and 
it  was  accordingly  presented  to  the  mission.  In  all  our  long 
traveling,  it  had  never  been  overturned  or  injured  by  any  ac- 
cident of  the  road ;  and  the  only  things  broken  were  the  glass 
lamps,  and  one  of  the  front  panels,  which  had  been  kicked  out 
by  an  unruly  Indian  horse.  The  howitzer  was  the  only 
wheeled  carriage  now  remaining.  We  started  about  noon, 
when  the  weather  had  become  disagreeably  cold,  with  flurries 
of  snow.  Our  friend  Mr.  Perkins,  whose  kindness  had  been 
active  and  efficient  during  our  stay,  accompanied  us  several 
miles  on  our  road,  when  he  bade  us  farewell,  and  consigned 
us  to  the  care  of  our  guides.  Ascending  to  the  uplands  be- 
yond the  southern  fork  of  the  Tinanens  creek,  we  found  the 
snow  lying  on  the  ground  in  frequent  patches,  although  the 
pasture  appeared  good,  and  the  new  short  grass  was  fresh  and 
green.  We  traveled  over  high,  hilly  land,  and  encamped  on  a 
little  branch  of  Tinanens  creek,  where  there  were  good  grass 
and  timber.  The  southern  bank  was  covered  with  snow, 
which  was  scattered  over  the  bottom ;  and  the  little  creek,  its 
borders  lined  with  ice,  had  a  chilly  and  wintry  look.  A  num- 
ber of  Indians  had  accompanied  us  so  far  on  our  road,  and  re- 
mained with  us  during  the  night.  Two  bad-looking  fellows, 
who  were  detected  in  stealing,  were  tied  and  laid  before  the 
fire,  and  guard  mounted  over  them  during  the  night.  The 
night  was  cold,  and  partially  clear. 

26th. — The  morning  was  cloudy  and  misty,  and  but  a  few 
stars  visible.  During  the  night  water  froze"  in  the  tents,  and 
at  sunrise  the  thermometer  was  at  20°.  Left  camp  at  10 
o'clock,  the  road  leading  along  tributaries  of  the  Tinanens,  and 
being,  so  far,  very  good.  We  turned  to  the  right  at  the  fork 
of  the  trail,  ascending  by  a  steep  ascent  along  a  spur  to  the 
dividing  grounds  between  this  stream  and  the  waters  of  Fall 
river.  The  creeks  we  had  passed  were  timbered  principally 
with  oak  and  other  deciduous  trees.  Snow  lies  everywhere 
here  on  the  ground,  and  we  had  a  slight  fall  during  the  morn- 
ing ;  but  towards  noon  the  bright  sky  yielded  to  a  bright  sun. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  275 

This  morning  we  had  a  grand  view  of  St.  Helens  and  Regnier : 
the  latter  appeared  of  a  conical  form,  and  very  lofty,  leading 
the  eye  far  up  into  the  sky.  The  line  of  the  timbered  country 
is  very  distinctly  marked  here,  the  bare  hills  making  with  it  a 
remarkable  contrast.  The  summit  of  the  ridge  commanded  a 
fine  view  of  the  Taih  prairie,  and  the  stream  running  through 
it,  which  is  a  tributary  to  the  Fall  river,  the  chasm  of  which 
is  visible  to  the  right.  A  steep  descent  of  a  mountain  hill 
brought  us  down  into  the  valley,  and  we  encamped  on  the 
stream  after  dark,  guided  by  the  light  of  fires,  which  some 
naked  Indians,  belonging  to  a  village  on  the  opposite  side,  were 
kindling  for  us  on  the  bank.  This  is  a  large  branch  of  the  Fall 
river.  There  was  a  broad  band  of  thick  ice  some  fifteen  feet 
wide  on  either  bank,  and  the  river  current  is  swift  and  bold. 
The  night  was  cold  and  clear,  and  we  made  our  astronomical 
observation  this  evening  with  the  thermometer  at  20°. 

In  anticipation  of  coming  hardship,  and  to  spare  our  horses, 
there  was  much  walking  done  to-day  ;  and  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and 
myself  made  the  day's  journey  on  foot.  Somewhere  near  the 
mouth  of  this  stream  are  the  falls  from  which  the  river  takes 
its  name. 

27th. — A  fine  view  of  Mount  Hood  this  morning ;  a  rose- 
colored  mass  of  snow,  bearing  S.  85°  W.  by  compass.  The 
sky  is  clear,  and  the  air  cold ;  the  thermometer  2-5°  below 
zero,  the  trees  and  bushes  glittering  white,  and  the  rapid  stream 
filled  with  floating  ice. 

Stiletsi  and  the  White  Crane,  two  Indian  chiefs  who  had  ac- 
companied us  thus  far,  took  their  leave,  and  we  resumed  our 
journey  at  10  o'clock.  We  ascended  by  a  steep  hill  from  the 
river  bottom,  which  is  sandy,  to  a  volcanic  plain,  around  which 
lofty  hills  sweep  in  a  regular  form.  It  is  cut  up  by  gullies  of 
basaltic  rock,  escarpments  of  which  appear  everywhere  in  the 
hills.  This  plain  is  called  the  Taih  prairie,  and  is  sprinkled 
with  some  scattered  pines.  The  country  is  now  far  more  inter- 
esting to  a  traveler  than  the  route  along  the  Snake  and  Colum- 
bia rivers.  To  our  right  we  had  always  the  mountains,  from 
the  midst  of  whose  dark  pine  forests  the  isolated  snowy  peaks 
were  looking  :>ut  like  giants.  They  served  us  for  grand  bea- 


276  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

cons  to  show  the  rate  at  which  we  advanced  in  our  journey. 
Mount  Hood  was  already  becoming  an  old  acquaintance,  and, 
when  we  ascended  the  prairie,  we  obtained  a  bearing  to  Mount 
Jefferson,  S.  23°  W.  The  Indian  superstition  has  peopled 
these  lofty  peaks  with  evil  spirits,  and  they  have  never  yet 
known  the  tread  of  a  human  foot.  Sternly  drawn  against  the 
sky,  they  look  so  high  and  steep,  so  snowy  and  rocky,  that  it 
appears  almost  impossible  to  climb  them  ;  but  still  a  trial  would 
have  its  attractions  for  the  adventurous  traveler.  A  small 
trail  takes  off  through  the  prairie,  towards  a  low  point  in  the 
range,  and  perhaps  there  is  here  a  pass  into  the  Wahlamette 
valley.  Crossing  the  plain,  we  descended  by  a  rocky  hill  into 
the  bed  of  a  tributary  of  Fall  river,  and  made  an  early  encamp- 
ment. The  water  was  in  holes,  and  frozen  over ;  and  we  were 
obliged  to  cut  through  the  ice  for  the  animals  to  drink.  An 
ox,  which  was  rather  troublesome  to  drive,  was  killed  here  for 
food. 

The  evening  was  fine,  the  sky  being  very  clear,  and  I  ob- 
tained an  immersion  of  the  third  satellite,  with  a  good  observa- 
tion of  an  emersion  of  the  first ;  the  latter  of  which  gives  for 
the  longitude,  121°  02'  43";  the  latitude,  by  observation,  be- 
ing 45°  06'  45".  The  night  was  cold — the  thermometer  dur- 
ing the  observations  standing  at  9°. 

28th. — The  sky  was  clear  in  the  morning,  but  suddenly 
clouded  over,  and«at  sunrise  it  began  to  snow,  with  the  thermom- 
eter at  18°. 

We  traversed  a  broken  high  country,  partly  timbered  with 
pine,  and  about  noon  crossed  a  mountainous  ridge,  in  which, 
from  the  rock  occasionally  displayed,  the  formation  consists  of 
compact  lava.  Frequent  tracks  of  elk  were  visible  in  the  snow. 
On  our  right,  in  the  afternoon,  a  high  plain,  partially  covered 
with  pine,  extended  about  ten  miles,  to  the  foot  of  the  Cascade 
mountains. 

At  evening  we  encamped  in  a  basin  narrowly  surrounded 
by  rocky  hills,  after  a  day's  journey  of  twenty-one  miles. 
The  surrounding  rocks  are  either  volcanic  products,  P*  highly 
altered  by  volcanic  action,  consisting  of  quartz  and  Teddish- 
colored  silicious  masses. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  277 

29th. — We  emerged  from  the  basin,  by  a  narrow  pass,  upon 
a  considerable  branch  of  Fall  river,  running  to  the  eastward 
through  a  narrow  valley.  The  trail,  descending  this  stream, 
brought  us  to  a  locality  of  hot  springs,  which  were  on  either 
bank.  Those  on  the  left,  which  were  formed  into  deep  hand- 
some basins,  would  have  been  delightful  baths,  if  the  outer  air 
had  not  been  so  keen,  the  thermometer  in  these  being  at  89°. 
There  were  others  oh  the  opposite  side,  at  the  foot  of  an  escarp- 
ment, in  which  the  temperature  of  the  water  was  134°.  These 
waters  deposited  around  the  spring  a  brecciated  mass  of  quartz 
and  feldspar,  much  of  it  of  a  reddish  color. 

We  crossed  the  stream  here,  and  ascended  again  to  a  high 
plain,  from  an  elevated  point  of  which  we  obtained  a  view  of 
six  of  the  great  peaks — Mount  Jefferson,  followed  to  the  south- 
ward by  two  others  of  the  same  class ;  and  succeeding,  at  a 
still  greater  distance  to  the  southward,  were  three  other  lower 
peaks,  clustering  together  in  a  branch  ridge.  These,  like  the 
great  peaks,  were  snowy  masses,  secondary  only  to  them  ;  and, 
from  the  best  examination  our  time  permitted,  we  are  inclined 
to  believe  that  the  range  to  which  they  belong  is  a  branch  from 
the  great  chain  which  here  bears  to  the  westward.  The  trail, 
during  the  remainder  of  the  day,  followed  near  to  the  large 
stream  on  the  left,  which  was  continuously  walled  in  between 
high  rocky  banks.  We  halted  for  the  night  on  a  little  by- 
stream. 

30th. — Our  journey  to-day  was  short.  Passing  over  a  high 
plain,  on  which  were  scattered  cedars,  with  frequent  beds  of 
volcanic  rock  in  fragments  interspersed  among  the  grassy 
grounds,  we  arrived  suddenly  on  the  verge  of  the  steep  and 
rocky  descent  to  the  valley  of  the  stream  we  had  been  follow- 
ing, and  which  here  ran  directly  across  our  path,  emerging 
from  the  mountains  on  the  right.  You  will  remark  that  the 
country  is  abundantly  watered  with  large  streams,  which  pour 
down  from  the  neighboring  range. 

These  streams  are  characterized  by  the  narrow  and  chasm- 
like  valleys  in  which  they  run,  generally  sunk  a  thousand  feet 
below  the  plain.  At  the  verge  of  this  plain,  they  frequently 
commence  in  vertical  precipices  of  basaltic  rock,  and  which 


278  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Nov. 

leave  only  casual  places  at  which  they  can  be  entered  by 
horses.  The  road  across  the  country,  which  would  otherwise 
be  very  good,  is  rendered  impracticable  for  wagons  by  these 
streams.  There  is  another  trail  among  the  mountains,  usually 
followed  in  the  summer,  which  the  snows  now  compelled  us  to 
avoid ;  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  this,  passing  nearer 
the  heads  of  these  streams,  would  afford  a  much  better  road. 

At  such  places,  the  gun-carriage  was  unlimbered,  and  sepa- 
rately descended  by  hand.  Continuing  a  few  miles  up  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  we  encamped  early  in  an  open  bottom  among 
the  pines,  a  short  distance  below  a  lodge  of  Indians.  Here, 
along  the  river  the  bluffs  present  escarpments  seven  or  eight 
hundred  feet  in  height,  containing  strata  of  a  very  fine  porce- 
lain clay,  overlaid,  at  the  height  of  about  five  hundred  feet,  by 
a  massive  stratum  of  compact  basalt  one  hundred  feet  in  thick- 
ness, which  again  is  succeeded  above  by  other  strata  of  vol- 
canic rocks.  The  clay  strata  are  variously  colored,  some  of 
them  very  nearly  as  white  as  chalk,  and  very  fine-grained. 
Specimens  brought  from  these  have  been  subjected  to  micro- 
scopical examination  by  Professor  Bailey,  of  West  Point,  and 
are  considered  by  him  to  constitute  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
deposites  of  fluviatile  infusoria  on  record.  While  they  abound 
in  genera  and  species  which  are  common  in  fresh  water,  but 
which  rarely  thrive  where  the  water  is  even  brackish,  not  one 
decidedly  marine  form  is  to  be  found  among  them ;  and  their 
fresh-water  origin  is  therefore  beyond  a  doubt.  It  is  equally 
certain  that  they  lived  and  died  at  the  situation  where  they 
were  found,  as  they  could  scarcely  have  been  transported  by 
running  waters  without  an  admixture  of  sandy  particles ;  from 
which,  however,  they  are  remarkably  free.  Fossil  infusoria 
of  a  fresh- water  origin  had  been  previously  detected  by  Mr. 
Bailey,  in  specimens  brought  by  Mr.  James  D.  Dana  from  the 
tertiary  formation  of  Oregon.  Most  of  the  species  in  those 
specimens  differed  so  much  from  those  now  living  and  known, 
that  he  was  led  to  infer  that  they  might  belong  to  extinct 
species,  and  considered  them  also  as  affording  proof  of  an 
alteration,  in  the  formation  from  which  they  were  obtained,  of 
fresh  and  salt-water  deposites,  which,  common  enough  in 


1843.]  oApf.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  2?9 

Europe,  had  not  hitherto  been  noticed  in  the  United  States. 
Coming  evidently  from  a  locality  entirely  different,  our  speci- 
mens show  very  few  species  in  common  with  those  brought  by 
Mr.  Dana,  but  bear  a  much  closer  resemblance  to  those  inhab- 
iting the  northeastern  states.  It  is  possible  that  they  are  from 
a  more  recent  deposite ;  but  the  presence  of  a  few  remarkable 
forms  which  are  common  to  the  two  localities  renders  it  more' 
probable  that  there  is  no  great  difference  in  their  age. 

I  obtained  here  a  good  observation  of  an  emersion  of  the 
second  satellite  ;  but  clouds,  which  rapidly  overspread  the  sky, 
prevented  the  usual  number  of  observations.  Those  which  we 
succeeded  in  obtaining,  are,  however,  good ;  and  give  for  the 
latitude  of  the  place  44°  35'  23",  and  for  the  longitude  from 
the  satellite  121°  10'  25". 


DECEMBER. 

1st. — A  short  distance  above  our  encampment,  we  crossed 
the  river,  which  was  thickly  lined  along  its  banks  with  ice. 
In  common  with  all  these  mountain-streams  the  water  was 
very  clear  and  the  current  swift.  It  was  not  everywhere  ford- 
able,  and  the  water  was  three  or  four  feet  deep  at  our  crossing, 
and  perhaps  a  hundred  feet  wide.  As  was  frequently  the  case 
at  such  places,  one  of  the  mules  got  his  pack,  consisting  of 
sugar,  thoroughly  wet,  and  turned  into  molasses.  One  of  the 
guides  informed  me  that  this  was  a  "  salmon- water,"  and 
pointed  out  several  ingeniously-contrived  places  to  catch  the 
fish ;  among  the  pines  in  the  bottom  I  saw  an  immense  one, 
about  twelve  feet  in  diameter.  A  steep  ascent  from  the  oppo- 
site bank  delayed  us  again  ;  and  as,  by  the  information  of  our 
guides,  grass  would  soon  become  very  scarce,  we  encamped 
on  the  height  of  land,  in  a  marshy  place  among  the  pines, 
where  there  was  an  abundance  of  grass.  We  found  here  a 
single  Nez  Perce  family,  who  had  a  very  handsome  horse  in 
their  drove,  which  we  endeavored  to  obtain  in  exchange  for  a 
good  cow ;  but  the  man  "  had  two  hearts,"  or,  rather,  he  had 


280  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Dsc. 

one  and  his  wife  had  another :  she  wanted  the  cow,  but  he 
loved  the  horse  too  much  to  part  with  it.  These  people  attach 
great  value  to  cattle,  with  which  they  are  endeavoring  to  sup- 
ply  themselves. 

2d. — In  the  first  rays  of  the  sun,  the  mountain  peaks  this 
,  morning  presented  a  beautiful  appearance,  the  snow  being  en- 
tirely covered  with  a  hue  of  rosy  gold.  We  traveled  to-day 
over  a  very  stony,  elevated  plain,  about  which  were  scattered 
cedar  and  pine,  and  encamped  on  another  branch  of  Fall  river. 
We  were  gradually  ascending  to  a  more  elevated  region, 
which  would  have  been  indicated  by  the  rapidly  increasing 
quantities  of  snow  and  ice,  had  we  not  known  it  by  other 
means.  A  mule,  which  was  packed  with  our  cooking-utensils, 
wandered  off  among  the  pines  unperceived,  and  several  men 
were  sent  back  to  search  for  it. 

3d. — Leaving  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  with  the  party,  I  went  ahead 
with  the  howitzer  and  a  few  men,  in  order  to  gain  time,  as  our 
progress  with  the  gun  was  necessarily  slower.  The  country 
continued  the  same — very  stony,  with  cedar  and  pine  ;  and  we 
rode  on  until  dark,  when  we  encamped  on  a  hill-side  covered 
with  snow,  which  we  used  to-night  for  water,  as  we  were  una- 
ble to  reach  any  stream. 

4th. — Our  animals  had  taken  the  back  track,  although  a 
great  number  were  hobbled  ;  and  we  were  consequently  de- 
layed until  noon.  Shortly  after  we  had  left  this  encampment, 
the  mountain  trail  from  the  Dalles  joined  that  on  which  we 
were  traveling.  After  passing  for  several  miles  over  an  arte- 
misia  plain,  the  trail  entered  a  beautiful  pine  forest,  through 
which  we  traveled  for  several  hours ;  and  about  4  o'clock  de- 
scended into  the  valley  of  another  large  branch,  on  the  bottom 
of  which  were  spaces  of  open  pines,  with  occasional  meadows 
of  good  grass,  in  one  of  which  we  encamped.  The  stream  is 
very  swift  and  deep,  and  about  40  feet  wide,  and  nearly  half 
frozen  over.  Among  the  timber  here,  are  larches  140  feet 
high,  and  over  three  feet  in  diameter.  We  had  to-night  the 
rare  sight  of  a  lunar  rainbow. 

5th. — To-day  the  country  was  all  pine  forest,  and  beautiful 
weather  made  our  journey  delightful.  It  was  too  warm  at 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  281 

noon  for  winter  clothes ;  and  the  snow,  which  lay  everywhere 
in  patches  through  the  forest,  was  melting  rapidly.  After  a 
few  hours'  ride,  we  came  upon  a  fine  stream  in  the  midst  of 
the  forest,  which  proved  to  be  the  principal  branch  of  the  Fall 
river.  It  was  occasionally  200  feet  wide — sometimes  narrow- 
ed to  50  feet — the  waters  very  clear,  and  frequently  deep. 
We  ascended  along  the  river,  which  sometimes  presented  sheets 
of  foaming  cascades — its  banks  occasionally  blackened  with 
masses  of  scoriated  rock — and  found  a  good  encampment  on 
the  verge  of  open  bottom,  which  had  been  an  old  camping- 
ground  of  the  Cayuse  Indians.  A  great  number  of  deer-horns 
were  lying  about,  indicating  game  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
timber  was  uniformly  large,  some  of  the  pines  measuring  22 
feet  in  circumference  at  the  ground,  and  12  to  13  feet  at  six 
feet  above. 

In  all  our  journeying,  we  had  never  traveled  through  a  coun- 
try where  the  rivers  were  so  abounding  in  falls  ;  and  the  name 
of  this  stream  is  singularly  characteristic.  At  every  place 
where  we  come  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  river,  is  heard  the 
roaring  of  falls.  The  rock  along  the  banks  of  the  stream,  and 
the  ledge  over  which  it  falls,  is  a  scoriated  basalt,  with  a  bright 
metallic  fracture.  The  stream  goes  over  in  one  clear  pitch, 
succeeded  by  a  foaming  cataract  of  several  hundred  yards. 
In  a  little  bottom  above  the  falls,  a  small  stream  discharges  into 
an  entonnoir,  and  disappears  below. 

We  made  an  early  encampment,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
evening  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  joined  us  here  with  the  lost  mule. 
Our  lodge-poles  were  nearly  worn  out,  and  we  found  here  a 
handsome  set,  leaning  against  one  of  the  trees,  very  white, 
and  cleanly  scraped.  Had  the  owners  been  here,  we  would 
have  purchased  them ;  but  as  they  were  not,  we  merely  left 
the  old  ones  in  their  place,  with  a  small  quantity  of  tobacco. 

6th. — The  morning  was  frosty  and  clear.  We  continued  up 
the  stream  on  undulating  forest  ground,  over  which  there  was 
scattered  much  falling  timber.  We  met  here  a  village  of  Nez 
Perce  Indians,  who  appeared  to  be  coming  down  from  the 
mountains,  and  had  with  them  fine  bands  of  horses.  With  them 
were  a  few  Snake  Indians  of  the  root-digging  species.  Prom 


282  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [DEC. 

the  forest  we  emerged  into  an  open  valley  ten  or  twelve  miles 
wide,  through  which  the  stream  was  flowing  tranquilly,  up- 
wards  of  two  hundred  feet  broad,  with  occasional  islands,  and 
bordered  with  fine  broad  bottoms.  Crossing  the  river,  which 
here  issues  from  a  great  mountain  ridge  on  the  right,  we  con- 
tinued up  the  southern  and  smaller  branch  over  a  level  coun- 
try, consisting  of  fine  meadow-land,  alternating  with  pine  for- 
ests, and  encamped  on  it  early  in  the  evening.  A  warm  sun- 
shine made  the  day  pleasant. 

7th. — To-day  we  had  good  traveling  ground,  the  trail  lead- 
ing sometimes  over  rather  sandy  soils  in  the  pine  forest,  and 
sometimes  over  meadow-land  along  the  stream.  The  great 
beauty  of  the  country  in  summer  constantly  suggested  itself 
to  our  imaginations ;  and  even  now  we  found  it  beautiful,  as 
we  rode  along  these  meadows,  from  half  a  mile  to  two  miles 
wide.  The  rich  soil  and  excellent  water,  surrounded  by  no- 
ble forests,  make  a  picture  that  would  delight  the  eye  of  a 
farmer. 

I  observed  to-night  an  occultation  of  a  Geminorum  ;  which, 
although  at  the  bright  limb  of  the  moon,  appears  to  give  a  very 
good  result,  that  has  been  adopted  for  the  longitude.  The  oc- 
cultation, observations  of  satellites,  and  our  position  deduced 
from  daily,  surveys  with  the  compass,  agree  remarkably  well 
together,  and  mutually  support  and  strengthen  each  other. 
The  latitude  of  the  camp  is  43°  30'  36" ;  and  longitude,  de- 
duced from  the  occultation,  121°  33'  50". 

8th. — To-day  we  crossed  the  last  branch  of  the  Fall  river, 
issuing,  like  all  the  others  we  had  crossed,  in  a  southwesterly 
direction  from  the  mountains.  Our  direction  was  a  little  east 
of  south,  the  trail  leading  constantly  through  pine  forests.  The 
soil  was  generally  bare,  consisting,  in  greater  part,  of  a  yel- 
lowish-white pumice-stone,  producing  varieties  of  magnificent 
pines,  but  not  a  blade  of  grass ;  and  to-night  our  horses  were 
obliged  to  do  without  food,  and  use  snow  for  water.  These 
pines  are  remarkable  for  the  red  color  of  the  bolls ;  and  among 
them  occurs  a  species  of  which  the  Indians  had  informed  me 
when  leaving  the  Dalles.  The  unusual  size  of  the  cone  (16  or 
18  inches  long)  had  attracted  their  attention  ;  and  they  pointed 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  283 

it  out  to  me  among  the  curiosities  of  the  country.  They  are 
more  remarkable  for  their  large  diameter  than  their  height, 
which  usually  averages  only  about  120  feet.  The  leaflets  are 
short — only  two  or  three  inches  long,  and  five  in  a  sheath  ;  the 
bark  of  a  red  color. 

9th. — The  trail  leads  always  through  splendid  pine  forests. 
Crossing  dividing  grounds  by  a  very  fine  road,  we  descended 
very  gently  towards  the  south.  The  weather  was  pleasant, 
and  we  halted  late.  The  soil  was  very  much  like  that  of  yes- 
terday ;  and  on  the  surface  of  a  hill  near  our  encampment, 
were  displayed  beds  of  pumice-stone ;  but  the  soil  produced 
no  grass,  and  again  the  animals  fared  badly. 

10th. — The  country  began  to  improve;  and  about  eleven 
o'clock  we  reached  a  spring  of  cold  water  on  the  edge  of  a  sa- 
vannah, or  grassy  meadow,  which  our  guides  informed  us  was 
an  arm  of  the  Tlamath  lake ;  and  a  few  miles  further  we  en- 
tered upon  an  extensive  meadow,  or  lake  of  grass,  surrounded 
by  timbered  mountains.  This  was  the  Tlamath  lake.  It  was 
a  picturesque  and  beautiful  spot,  and  rendered  more  attractive 
to  us  by  the  abundant  and  excellent  grass,  which  our  animals, 
after  traveling  through  pine  forests,  so  much  needed ;  but  the 
broad  sheet  of  water  which  constitutes  a  lake  was  not  to  be  seen. 
Overlooking  it,  immediately  west,  were  several  snowy  knobs, 
belonging  to  what  we  have  considered  a  branch  of  the  Cascade 
range.  A  low  point,  covered  with  pines,  made  out  into  the 
lake,  which  afforded  us  a  good  place  for  an  encampment,  and 
for  the  security  of  our  horses,  which  were  guarded  in  view  on 
the  open  meadow.  The  character  of  courage  and  hostility  at- 
tributed to  the  Indians  in  this  quarter  induced  more  than  usual 
precaution ;  and,  seeing  smokes  rising  from  the  middle  of  the 
lake  (or  savannah)  and  along  the  opposite  shores,  I  directed 
the  howitzer  to  be  fired.  It  was  the  first  time  our  guides  had 
ieen  it  discharged  ;  and  the  bursting  of  the  shell  at  a  distance, 
which  was  something  like  the  second  fire  of  the  gun,  amazed 
and  bewildered  them  with  delight.  It  inspired  them  with  tri- 
umphant feelings ;  but  on  the  camps  at  a  distance  the  effect 
was  different,  for  the  smokes  in  the  lake  and  on  the  shores  im- 
mediately disappeared. 


284  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [DEC. 

The  point  on  which  we  were  encamped  forms,  with  the  op- 
posite eastern  shore,  a  narrow  neck,  connecting  the  body  of 
the  lake  with  a  deep  cove  or  bay  which  receives  the  principal 
affluent  stream,  and  over  the  greater  part  of  which  the  water 
(or  rather  ice)  was  at  this  time  dispersed  in  shallow  pools. 
Among  the  grass,  and  scattered  over  the  prairie  lake,  appeared 
to  be  similar  marshes.  It  is  simply  a  shallow  basin,  which,  for 
a  short  period  at  the  time  of  melting  snows,  is  covered  with 
water  from  the  neighboring  mountains  ;  but  this  probably  soon 
runs  off,  and  leaves  for  the  remainder  of  the  year  a  green  sa- 
vannah, through  the  midst  of  which  the  river  Tlamath,  which 
flows  to  the  ocean,  winds  its  way  to  the  outlet  on  the  south- 
western side. 

llth. — No  Indians  made  their  appearance,  and  I  determined 
to  pay  them  a  visit.  Accordingly  the  people  were  gathered 
together,  and  we  rode  out  towards  the  village  in  the  middle 
of  the  lake  which  one  of  our  guides  had  previously  visited. 
It  could  not  be  directly  approached,  as  a  large  part  of  the  lake 
appeared  a  marsh ;  and  there  were  sheets  of  ice  among  the 
grass  on  which  our  horses  could  not  keep  their  footing.  We 
therefore  followed  the  guide  for  a  considerable  distance  along 
the  forest ;  and  then  turned  off  towards  the  village,  which  we 
soon  began  to  see  was  a  few  large  huts,  on  the  tops  of  which 
were  collected  the  Indians.  When  we  had  arrived  within  half 
a  mile  of  the  village,  two  persons  were  seen  advancing  to  meet 
us ;  and,  to  please  the  fancy  of  our  guides,  we  ranged  our- 
selves into  a  long  line,  riding  abreast,  while  they  galloped 
ahead  to  meet  the  strangers. 

We  were  surprised,  on  riding  up,  to  find  one  of  them  a  wo- 
man, having  never  before  known  a  squaw  to  take  any  part  in 
the  business  of  war.  They  were  the  village  chief  and  his  wife, 
who,  in  excitement  and  alarm  at  the  unusual  event  and  appear- 
ance, had  come  out  to  meet  their  fate  together.  The  chief 
was  a  very  prepossessing  Indian,  with  handsome  features,  and 
a  singularly  soft  and  agreeable  voice — so  remarkable  as  to 
attract  general  notice. 

The  huts  were  grouped  together  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
which,  from  being  spread  out  in  a  shallow  marsh  at  the  upper 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  285 

end  of  the  lake,  was  collected  here  into  a  single  stream.  They 
were  large  round  huts,  perhaps  20  feet  in  diameter,  with 
rounded  tops,  on  which  was  the  door  by  which  they  descend- 
ed into  the  interior.  Within,  they  were  supported  by  posts 
and  beams. 

Almost  like  plants,  these  people  seem  to  have  adapted  them- 
selves to  the  soil,  and  to  be  growing  on  what  the  immediate 
locality  afforded.  Their  only  subsistence  at  the  time  appear- 
ed to  be  a  small  fish,  great  quantities  of  which,  that  had  been 
smoked  and  dried,  were  suspended  on  strings  about  the  lodge. 
Heaps  of  straw  were  lying  around ;  and  their  residence  in  the 
midst  of  grass  and  rushes  had  taught  them  a  peculiar  skill  in 
converting  this  material  to  useful  purposes.  Their  shoes  were 
made  of  straw  or  grass,  which  seemed  well  adapted  for  a 
snowy  country ;  and  the  women  wore  on  their  heads  a  closely- 
woven  basket,  which  made  a  very  good  cap.  Among  other 
things,  were  party-colored  mats  about  four  feet  square,  which 
we  purchased  to  lay  on  the  snow  under  our  blankets,  and  to 
use  for  table-cloths. 

Numbers  of  singular-looking  dogs,  resembling  wolves,  were 
sitting  on  the  tops  of  the  huts  ;  and  of  these  we  purchased  a 
young  one,  which,  after  its  birthplace,  was  named  Tlamath. 
The  language  spoken  by  these  Indians  is  different  from  that 
of  the  Shoshonee  and  Columbia  River  tribes  ;  and  otherwise 
than  by  signs  they  cannot  understand  each  other.  They  made 
us  comprehend  that  they  were  at  war  with  the  people  who 
lived  to  the  southward  and  to  the  eastward  ;  but  I  could  obtain 
from  them  no  certain  information.  The  river  on  which  they 
live  enters  the  Cascade  mountains  on  the  western  side  of  the 
lake,  and  breaks  through  them  by  a  passage  impracticable  for 
travelers ;  but  over  the  mountains,  to  the  northward,  are  passes 
which  present  no  other  obstacle  than  in  the  almost  impenetra- 
ble forests.  Unlike  any  Indians  we  had  previously  seen,  these 
wore  shells  in  their  noses.  We  returned  to  our  camp,  after 
remaining  here  an  hour  or  two,  accompanied  by  a  number  of 
Indians. 

In  order  to  recruit  a  little  the  strength  of  our  animals,  and 
obtain  some  acquaintance  with  the  locality,  we  remained  here 


286  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Dsc. 

for  the  remainder  of  the  day.  By  observation,  the  latitude  of 
the  camp  was  42°  56'  51",  and  the  diameter  of  the  lake,  or 
meadow,  as  has  been  intimated,  about  20  miles.  It  is  a  pic- 
turesque and  beautiful  spot,  and,  under  the  hand  of  cultivation, 
might  become  a  little  paradise.  Game  is  found  in  the  forest, 
timbered  and  snowy  mountains  skirt  it,  and  fertility  character- 
izes it.  Situated  near  the  heads  of  three  rivers,  and  on  the  line 
of  inland  communication  with  California,  and  near  to  Indians 
noted  for  treachery,  it  will  naturally,  in  the  progress  of  the 
settlement  of  Oregon,  become  a  point  for  military  occupation 
and  settlement. 

From  Tlamath  lake,  the  further  continuation  of  our  voyage 
assumed  a  character  of  discovery  and  exploration,  which,  from 
the  Indians  here,  we  could  obtain  no  information  to  direct,  and 
where  the  imaginary  maps  of  the  country,  instead  of  assisting, 
exposed  us  to  suffering  and  defeat.  In  our  journey  across  the 
desert,  Mary's  lake,  and  the  famous  Buenaventura  river,  were 
two  points  on  which  I  relied  to  recruit  the  animals  and  repose 
the  party.  Forming,  agreeably  to  the  best  maps  in  my  pos- 
session, a  connected  water-line  from  the  Rocky  mountains  to 
the  Pacific  ocean,  I  felt  no  other  anxiety  than  to  pass  safely 
across  the  intervening  desert  to  the  banks  of  the  Buenaventura, 
where,  in  the  softer  climate  of  a  more  southern  latitude,  our 
horses  might  find  grass  to  sustain  them,  and  ourselves  be  shel- 
tered from  the  rigors  of  winter,  and  from  the  inhospitable  des- 
ert. The  guides  who  had  conducted  us  thus  far  on  our  jour- 
ney were  about  to  return ;  and  I  endeavored  in  vain  to  obtain 
others  to  lead  us,  even  for  a  few  days,  in  the  direction  (east) 
which  we  wished  to  go.  The  chief  to  whom  I  applied  alleged 
the  want  of  horses,  and  the  snow  on  the  mountains  across 
which  our  course  would  carry  us,  and  the  sickness  of  his  fami- 
ly, as  reasons  for  refusing  to  go  with  us. 

12th. — This  morning  the  camp  was  thronged  with  Tlamath 
Indians  from  the  southeastern  shore  of  the  lake  ;  but,  knowing 
the  treacherous  disposition  which  is  a  remarkable  characteristic 
of  the  Indians  south  of  the  Columbia,  the  camp  was  kept  con- 
stantly on  its  guard.  I  was  not  unmindful  of  the  disasters 
which  Smith  and  other  travelers  had  met  with  in  this  country, 


1843.]  CAPI    FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  287 

and  therefore  was  equally  vigilant  in  guarding  against  treache- 
ry and  violence. 

According  to  the  best  information  I  had  been  able  to  obtain 
from  the  Indians,  in  a  few  days'  traveling  we  should  reach 
another  large  water,  probably  a  lake,  which  they  indicated  ex- 
actly in  the  course  we  were  about  to  pursue.  We  struck  our 
tents  at  10  o'clock,  and  crossed  the  lake  in  a  nearly  east  di- 
rection, where  it  has  the  least  extension — the  breadth  of  the 
arm  being  here  only  about  a  mile  and  a  half.  There  were 
ponds  of  ice,  with  but  little  grass,  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
way,  and  it  was  difficult  to  get  the  pack-animals  across,  which 
fell  frequently,  and  could  not  get  up  with  their  loads,  unassist- 
ed. The  morning  was  very  unpleasant,  snow  falling  at  inter- 
vals in  large  flakes,  and  the  sky  dark.  In  about  two  hours  we 
succeeded  in  getting  the  animals  over  ;  and,  after  traveling 
another  hour  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake,  we  turned  up 
into  a  cove  where  there  was  a  sheltered  place  among  the  tim- 
ber, with  good  grass,  and  encamped.  The  Indians,  who  had 
accompanied  us  so  far,  returned  to  their  village  on  the  south- 
eastern shore.  Among  the  pines  here,  I  noticed  some  five  or 
six  feet  in  diameter. 

13th. — The  night  has  been  cold  ;  the  peaks  around  the  lake 
gleam  out  brightly  in  the  morning  sun,  and  the  thermometer  is 
at  zero.  We  continued  up  the  hollow  formed  by  a  small  afflu- 
ent to  the  lake,  and  immediately  entered  an  open  pine  for- 
est on  the  mountain.  The  way  here  was  sometimes  obstructed 
by  fallen  trees,  and  the  snow  was  four  to  twelve  inches  deep. 
The  mules  at  the  gun  pulled  heavily,  and  walking  was  a  little 
laborious.  In  the  midst  of  the  wood,  we  heard  the  sound  of 
galloping  horses,  and  were  agreeably  surprised  by  the  unex- 
pected arrival  of  our  Tlamath  chief  with  several  Indians.  He 
seemed  to  have  found  his  conduct  inhospitable  in  letting  the 
strangers  depart  without  a  guide  through  the  snow,  and  had 
come,  with  a  few  others,  to  pilot  us  a  day  or  two  on  the  way. 
After  traveling  in  an  easterly  direction  through  the  forest  for 
about  four  hours,  we  reached  a  considerable  stream,  with  a 
border  of  good  grass  ;  and  here,  by  the  advice  of  our  guides, 
we  encamped.  It  is  about  thirty  feet  wide,  and  two  to  four 


288  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [DEC. 

feet  deep,  the  water  clear,  with  some  current ;  and,  according 
to  the  information  of  our  Indians,  is  the  principal  affluent  to  the 
lake,  and  the  head- water  of  the  Tlamath  river. 

A  very  clear  sky  enabled  me  to  obtain  here  to-night  good 
observations,  including  an  emersion  of  the  first  satellite  of 
Jupiter,  which  gave  for  the  long.  121°  20'  42",  and  for  the 
lat.  42°  51'  26A.  This  emersion  coincides  remarkably  well 
with  the  result  obtained  from  an  occultation  at  the  encampment 
of  December  7th  to  8th,  1843 ;  from  which  place,  the  line  of 
our  survey  gives  an  easting  of  13  miles.  The  day's  journey 
was  12  miles. 

14th. — Our  road  was  over  a  broad  mountain,  and  we  rode 
seven  hours  in  a  thick  snow-storm,  always  through  pine  forests, 
when  we  came  down  upon  the  head-waters  of  another  stream, 
on  which  there  was  grass.  The  snow  lay  deep  on  the  ground, 
and  only  the  high  swamp-grass  appeared  above.  The  Indians 
were  thinly  clad,  and  I  had  remarked  during  the  day  that  they 
suffered  from  cold.  This  evening  they  told  me  that  the  snow 
was  getting  too  deep  on  the  mountain,  and  I  could  not  induce 
them  to  go  any  farther.  The  stream  we  had  struck  issued 
from  the  mountain  in  an  easterly  direction,  turning  to  the 
southward  a  short  distance  below ;  and,  drawing  its  course 
upon  the  ground,  they  made  us  comprehend  that  it  pursued  its 
way  for  a  long  distance  in  that  direction,  uniting  with  many 
other  streams,  and  gradually  becoming  a  great  river.  With- 
out the  subsequent  information,  which  confirmed  the  opinion, 
we  became  immediately  satisfied  that  this  water  formed  the 
principal  stream  of  the  Sacramento  river ;  and,  consequently, 
that  this  main  affluent  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  had  its 
source  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  opposite  a 
tributary  to  the  Columbia,  and  near  the  head  of  the  Tlamath 
river,  which  goes  to  the  ocean  north  of  42°,  and  within  the 
United  States. 

15th. — A  present,  consisting  of  useful  goods,  afforded  much 
satisfaction  to  our  guides ;  and,  showing  them  the  national 
flag,  I  explained  that  it  was  a  symbol  of  our  nation ;  and  they 
engaged  always  to  receive  it  in  a  friendly  manner.  The  chief 
pointed  out  a  course,  by  following  which  we  would  arrive  at 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  289 

the  big  water,  where  no  more  snow  was  to  be  found.  Travel- 
ing in  a  direction  N.  60°  E.  by  compass,  which  the  Indians 
informed  me  would  avoid  a  bad  mountain  to  the  right,  we 
crossed  the  Sacramento  where  it  turned  to  the  southward,  and 
entered  a  grassy  level  plain — a  smaller  Grand  Rond ;  from 
the  lower  end  of  which  the  river  issued  into  an  inviting  country 
of  low  rolling  hills.  Crossing  a  hard-frozen  swamp  on  the 
farther  side  of  the  Rond,  we  entered  again  the  pine  forest,  in 
which  very  deep  snow  made  our  traveling  slow  and  laborious. 
We  were  slowly  but  gradually  ascending  a  mountain ;  and, 
after  a  hard  journey  of  seven  hours,  we  came  to  some  naked 
places  among  the  timber,  where  a  few  tufts  of  grass  showed 
above  the  snow,  on  the  side  of  a  hollow  ;  and  here  we  encamped. 
Our  cow,  which  every  day  got  poorer,  was  killed  here,  but  the 
meat  was  rather  tough. 

16th. — We  traveled  this  morning  through  snow  about  three 
feet  deep,  which,  being  crusted,  very  much  cut  the  feet  of  our 
animals.  The  mountain  still  gradually  rose ;  we  crossed 
several  spring  heads  covered  with  quaking  asp ;  otherwise  it 
was  all  pine  forest.  The  air  was  dark  with  falling  snow, 
which  everywhere  weighed  down  the  trees.  The  depths  of  the 
forest  were  profoundly  still ;  and  below,  we  scarcely  felt  a  breath 
of  the  wind  which  whirled  the  snow  through  their  branches. 
I  found  that  it  required  some  exertion  of  constancy  to  adhere 
steadily  to  one  course  through  the  woods,  when  we  were  un- 
certain how  far  the  forest  extended,  or  what  lay  beyond ;  and, 
on  account  of  our  animals,  it  would  be  bad  to  spend  another 
night  on  the  mountain.  Towards  noon  the  forest  looked  clear 
ahead,  appearing  suddenly  to  terminate  ;  and  beyond  a  certain 
point  we  could  see  no  trees.  Riding  rapidly  ahead  to  this 
spot,  we  found  ourselves  on  the  verge  of  a  vertical  and  rocky 
wall  of  the  mountain.  At  our  feet — more  than  a  thousand 
feet  below — we  looked  into  a  green  prairie  country,  in  which 
a  beautiful  lake,  some  twenty  miles  in  length,  was  spread  along 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  its  shores  bordered  with  green  grass. 
Just  then  the  sun  broke  out  among  the  clouds,  and  illuminated 
the  country  below,  while  around  us  the  storm  raged  h'ercely. 
Not  a  particle  of  ice  was  to  be  seen  on  the  lake,  or  snow  on 
13 


290  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [!)EC. 

its  borders,  and  all  was  like  summer  or  spring.  The  glow  of 
the  sun  in  the  valley  below  brightened  up  our  hearts  with  sud- 
den pleasure  ;  and  we  made  the  woods  ring  with  joyful  shouts 
to  those  behind ;  and  gradually,  as  each  came  up,  he  stopped 
to  enjoy  the  unexpected  scene.  Shivering  on  snow  three  feet 
deep,  and  stiffening  in  a  cold  north  wind,  we  exclaimed  at  once 
that  the  names  of  Summer  Lake  and  Winter  Ridge  should  be 
applied  to  these  two  proximate  places  of  such  sudden  and  vio- 
lent contrast. 

We  were  now  immediately  on  the  verge  of  the  forest  land, 
in  which  we  had  been  traveling  so  many  days  j  and,  looking 
forward  to  the  east,  scarce  a  tree  was  to  be  seen.  Viewed 
from  our  elevation,  the  face  of  the  country  exhibited  only 
rocks  and  grass,  and  presented  a  region  in  which  the  artemisia 
became  the  principal  wood,  furnishing  to  its  scattered  inhabi- 
tants fuel  for.  their  fires,  building  material  for  their  huts,  and 
shelter  for  the  small  game  which  ministers  to  their  hunger 
and  nakedness.  Broadly  marked  by  the  boundary  at  the 
mountain  wall,  and  immediately  below  us,  were  the  first 
waters  of  that  Great  Interior  Basin  which  has  the  Wahsatch 
and  Bear  River  mountains  for  its  eastern,  and  the  Sierra 
Nevada  for  its  western  rim  ;  and  the  edge  of  which  we  had 
entered  upwards  of  three  months  before,  at  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 

When  we  had  sufficiently  admired  the  scene  below,  we  be- 
gan to  think  about  descending,  which  here  was  impossible,  and 
we  turne'J  towards  the  north,  traveling  always  along  the  rocky 
wall.  We  continued  r\n  for  four  or  five  miles,  making  ine£ 
fectual  attempts  at  several  places ;  and  at  length  succeeded  in 
getting  down  at  one  which  was  extremeij  difficult  of  descent. 
Night  had  closed  in  before  the  foremost  reached  tne  bottom, 
and  it  was  dark  before  we  all  found  ourselves  together  in  tne 
valley.  There  were  three  or  four  half-dead  dry  cedar-trees 
on  the  shore,  and  those  who  first  arrived  kindled  bright  fires  to 
light  on  the  others.  One  of  the  mules  rolled  over  and  over 
two  or  three  hundred  feet  into  a  ravine,  but  recovered  himself 
without  any  other  injury  than  to  his  pack ;  and  the  howitzer 
was  left  midway  the  mountain  until  morning.  By  observation, 
the  latitude  of  this  encampment  is  43°  57'  22".  It  delayed 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  291 

us  until  near  noon  the  next  day  to  recover  ourselves  and  put 
every  thing  in  order ;  and  we  made  only  a  short  camp  along 
the  western  shore  of  the  lake,  which,  in  the  summer  tempera- 
ture we  enjoyed  to-day,  justified  the  name  we  had  given  it. 
Our  course  would  have  taken  us  to  the  other  shore,  and  over 
the  highlands  beyond ;  but  I  distrusted  the  appearance  of  the 
country,  and  decided  to  follow  a  plainly-beaten  Indian  trail 
leading  along  this  side  of  the  lake.  We  were  now  in  a  country 
where  the  scarcity  of  water  and  of  grass  makes  traveling  dan- 
gerous, and  great  caution  was  necessary. 

18th. — We  continued  on  the  trail  along  the  narrow  strip  of 
land  between  the  lake  and  the  high  rocky  wall,  from  which  we 
had  looked  down  two  days  before.  Almost  every  half  mile  we 
crossed  a  little  spring,  or  stream  of  pure  cold  water,  and  the 
grass  was  certainly  as  fresh  and  green  as  in  the  early  spring. 
From  the  white  efflorescence  along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  we 
were  enabled  to  judge  that  the  water  was  impure,  like  that  of 
lakes  we  subsequently  found,  but  the  mud  prevented  us  from 
approaching  it.  We  encamped  near  the  eastern  point  of  the 
lake,  where  there  appeared  between  the  hills  a  broad  and  low 
connecting  hollow  with  the  country  beyond.  From  a  rocky 
hill  in  the  rear,  I  could  see,  marked  out  by  a  line  of  yellow 
dried  grass,  the  bed  of  a  stream,  which  probably  connected  the 
lake  with  other  waters  in  the  spring. 

The  observed  latitude  of  this  encampment  is  42°  42'  37". 

19th. — After  two  hours'  ride  in  an  easterly  direction,  through 
a  low  country,  the  high  ridge  with  pine  forest  still  to  our  right, 
and  a  rocky  and  bald  but  lower  one  on  the  left,  we  reached  a 
considerable  fresh-water  stream,  which  issues  from  the  piny 
mountains.  So  far  as  we  had  been  able  to  judge,  between  this 
stream  and  the  lake  we  had  crossed  dividing  grounds,  and  there 
did  not  appear  to  be  any  connection,  as  might  be  inferred  from 
the  impure  condition  of  the  lake  water. 

The  rapid  stream  of  pure  water,  roaring  along  between 
oanks  overhung  with  aspens  and  willows,  was  a  refreshing  and 
unexpected  sight ;  and  we  followed  down  the  course  of  the 
stream,  which  brought  us  soon  into  a  marsh,  or  dry  lake, 
formed  by  the  expanding  waters  of  the  stream.  It  was  cover- 


292  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [DEC. 

ed  with  high  reeds  and  rushes,  and  large  patches  of  ground 
had  been  turned  up  by  the  squaws  in  digging  for  roots,  as  if  a 
farmer  had  been  preparing  the  land  for  grain.  I  could  not 
succeed  in  finding  the  plant  for  which  they  had  been  digging. 
There  were  frequent  trails,  and  fresh  tracks  of  Indians ;  and, 
from  the  abundant  signs  visible,  the  black-tailed  hare  appears 
to  be  numerous  here.  It  was  evident  that,  in  other  seasons, 
this  place  was  a  sheet  of  water.  Crossing  this  marsh  towards 
the  eastern  hills,  and  passing  over  a  bordering  plain  of  heavy 
sands,  covered  with  artemisia,  we  encamped  before  sundown 
on  the  creek,  which  here  was  very  small,  having  lost  its  water 
in  the  marshy  grounds.  We  found  here  tolerably  good  grass. 
The  wind  to-night  was  high,  and  we  had  no  longer  our  huge 
pine  fires,  but  were  driven  to  our  old  resource  of  small  dried 
willows  and  artemisia.  About  12  miles  ahead,  the  valley  ap- 
pears to  be  closed  in  by  a  high,  dark-looking  ridge. 

20th. — Traveling  for  a  few  hours  down  the  stream  this 
morning,  we  turned  the  point  of  a  hill  on  our  left,  and  came 
suddenly  in  sight  of  another  and  much  larger  lake,  which, 
along  its  eastern  shore,  was  closely  bordered  by  the  high  black 
ridge  which  walled  it  in  by  a  precipitous  face  on  this  side. 
Throughout  this  region  the  face  of  the  country  is  characterized 
by  these  precipices  of  black  volcanic  rock,  generally  enclosing 
the  valleys  of  streams,  and  frequently  terminating  the  hills. 
Often,  in  the  course  of  our  journey,  we  would  be  tempted  to 
continue  our  road  up  the  gentle  ascent  of  a  sloping  hill,  which, 
at  the  summit,  would  terminate  abruptly  in  a  black  precipice 
Spread  out  over  a  length  of  20  miles,  the  lake,  when  we  first 
came  in  view,  presented  a  handsome  sheet  of  water,  and  I 
gave  to  it  the  name  of  Lake  Abert,  in  honor  of  the  chief  of 
the  corps  to  which  I  belonged.  The  fresh-water  stream  we 
had  followed  emptied  into  the  lake  by  a  little  fall ;  and  I  was 
doubtful  for  a  moment  whether  to  go  on,  or  encamp  at  this 
place.  The  miry  ground  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  lake  did 
not  allow  us  to  examine  the  water  conveniently,  and,  being 
now  on  the  borders  of  a  desert  country,  we  were  moving  cau- 
tiously.  It  was,  however,  still  early  in  the  day,  and  1  con. 
tinued  on  trusting  either  that  the  water  would  be  drinkable 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  293 

or  that  we  should  find  some  little  spring  from  the  hill-side.  We 
were  following  an  Indian  trail  which  led  along  the  steep  rocky 
precipice — a  black  ridge  along  the  western  shore  holding  out 
no  prospect  whatever.  The  white  efflorescences  which  lined 
the  shore  like  a  bank  of  snow,  and  the  disagreeable  odor  which 
filled  the  air  as  soon  as  we  came  near,  informed  us  too  plainly 
that  the  water  belonged  to  one  of  those  fetid  salt  lakes  which 
are  common  in  this  region.  We  continued  until  late  in  the 
evening  to  work  along  the  rocky  shore,  but,  as  often  after- 
wards, the  dry,  inhospitable  rock  deceived  us ;  and,  halting  on 
the  lake,  we  kindled  up  fires  to  guide  those  who  were  strag- 
gling along  behind.  We  tried  the  water,  but  it  was  impossible 
to  drink  it,  and  most  of  the  people  to-night  lay  down  without 
eating  ;  but  some  of  us,  who  had  always  a  great  reluctance  to 
close  the  day  without  supper,  dug  holes  along  the  shore,  and 
obtained  water,  which,  being  filtered,  was  sufficiently  palata- 
ble to  be  used,  but  still  retained  much  of  its  nauseating 
taste.  There  was  very  little  grass  for  the  animals,  the  shore 
being  lined  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  chenopodiaceous  shrubs, 
which  burned  with  a  quick  bright  flame,  and  made  our  firewood. 

The  next  morning  we  had  scarcely  traveled  two  hours  along 
the  shore,  when  we  reached  a  place  where  the  mountains  made 
a  bay,  leaving  at  their  feet  a  low  bottom  around  the  lake. 
Here  we  found  numerous  hillocks  covered  with  rushes,  in  the 
midst  of  which  were  deep  holes,  or  springs,  of  pure  water ; 
and  the  bottom  was  covered  with  grass,  which,  although  of  a 
salt  and  unwholesome  quality,  and  mixed  with  saline  efflo- 
rescences, was  still  abundant,  and  made  a  good  halting-place 
to  recruit  our  animals,  and  we  accordingly  encamped  here  for 
the  remainder  of  the  day.  I  rode  ahead  several  miles  to  as- 
certain if  there  was  any  appearance  of  a  water-course  entering 
the  lake,  but  found  none,  the  hills  preserving  their  dry  charac- 
ter, and  the  shore  of  the  lake  sprinkled  with  the  same  white 
powdery  substance,  and  covered  with  the  same  shrubs.  There 
were  flocks  of  ducks  on  the  lake,  and  frequent  tracks  of  In- 
dians  along  the  shore,  where  the  grass  had  been  recently  burnt 
by  their  fires. 

We  ascended  the  bordering  mountain,  in  order  to  obtain  a  moi» 


294  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Dsc, 

perfect  view  of  the  lake,  in  sketching  its  figure :  hills  sweep  en- 
tirely around  its  basin,  from  which  the  waters  have  no  outlet. 

22d. — To-day  we  left  this  forbidding  lake.  Impassable 
rocky  ridges  barred  our  progress  to  the  eastward,  and  I  accord- 
ingly bore  off  towards  the  south,  over  an  extensive  sage-plain. 
At  a  considerable  distance  ahead,  and  a  little  on  our  left,  was 
a  range  of  snowy  mountains,  and  the  country  declined  gradu- 
ally towards  the  foot  of  a  high  and  nearer  ridge,  immediately 
before  us,  which  presented  the  feature  of  black  precipices  now 
becoming  common  to  the  country.  On  the  summit  of  the 
ridge,  snow  was  visible ;  and  there  being  every  indication  of 
a  stream  at  its  base,  we  rode  on  until  after  dark,  but  were  un- 
able to  reach  it,  and  halted  among  the  sage-bushes  on  the  open 
plain,  without  either  grass  or  water.  The  two  India-rubber 
bags  had  been  filled  with  water  in  the  morning,  which  afforded 
sufficient  for  the  camp ;  and  rain  in  the  night  formed  pools, 
which  relieved  the  thirst  of  the  animals.  Where  we  encamped 
on  the  bleak  sandy  plain,  the  Indians  had  made  huts  or  circular 
enclosures,  about  four  feet  high  and  twelve  feet  broad,  of  artemisia 
bushes.  Whether  these  had  been  forts  or  houses,  or  what  they 
had  been  doing  in  such  a  desert  place,  we  could  not  ascertain. 

23d. — The  weather  is  mild  ;  the  thermometer  at  daylight 
38° ;  the  wind  having  been  from  the  southward  for  several 
days.  The  country  has  a  very  forbidding  appearance,  present- 
ing to  the  eye  nothing  but  sage,  and  barren  ridges.  We  rode 
up  towards  the  mountain,  along  the  foot  of  which  we  found  a 
lake,  that  we  could  not  approach  on  account  of  the  mud  ;  and, 
passing  around  its  southern  end,  ascended  the  slope  at  the  foot 
of  the  ridge,  where  in  some  hollows  we  had  discovered  bushes 
and  small  trees — in  such  situations,  a  sure  sign  of  water.  We 
found  here  several  springs,  and  the  hill-side  was  well  sprinkled 
with  a  species  offestuca — a  better  grass  than  we  had  found  for 
many  days.  Our  elevated  position  gave  us  a  good  view  over 
the  country,  but  we  discovered  nothing  very  encouraging. 
Southward,  about  ten  miles  distant,  was  another  sma»l  lake, 
towards  which  a  broad  trail  led  along  the  ridge ;  and  this  ap- 
pearing to  afford  the  most  practicable  route,  I  determined  to 
continue  our  journey  in  that  direction. 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  295 

24th. — We  found  the  water  at  the  lake  tolerably  pure,  and 
encamped  at  the  farther  end.  There  were  some  good  grass 
and  canes  along  the  shore,  and  the  vegetables  at  this  place 
consisted  principally  of  chenopodiaceous  shrubs. 

25th. — We  were  roused  on  Christmas  morning  by  a  dis- 
charge from  the  small-arms  and  howitzer,  with  which  our 
people  saluted  the  day ;  and  the  name  of  which  we  bestowed 
on  the  lake.  It  was  the  first  time,  perhaps,  in  this  remote  and 
desolate  region,  in  which  it  had  been  so  commemorated.  Al- 
ways, on  days  of  religious  or  national  commemoration,  our 
voyageurs  expect  some  unusual  allowance  ;  and  having  nothing 
else,  I  gave  them  each  a  little  brandy,  (which  was  carefully 
guarded,  as  one  of  the  most  useful  articles  a  traveler  can  carry,) 
with  some  coffee  and  sugar,  which  here,  where  every  eatable 
was  a  luxury,  was  sufficient  to  make  them  a  feast.  The  day 
was  sunny  and  warm  ;  and  resuming  our  journey,  we  crossed 
some  slight  dividing  grounds  into  a  similar  basin,  walled  in  on 
the  right  by  a  lofty  mountain  ridge.  The  plainly-beaten  trail 
still  continued,  and  occasionally  we  passed  camping-grounds 
of  the  Indians,  which  indicated  to  me  that  we  were  on  one  of 
the  great  thoroughfares  of  the  country.  In  the  afternoon  I 
attempted  to  travel  in  a  more  eastern  direction ;  but  after  a 
few  laborious  miles,  was  beaten  back  into  the  basin  by  an  im- 
passable country.  There  were  fresh  Indian  tracks  about  the 
valley,  and  last  night  a  horse  was  stolen.  We  encamped  on 
the  valley  bottom,  where  there  was  some  cream-like  water  in 
ponds,  colored  by  a  clay  soil,  and  frozen  over.  Chenopodia- 
ceous  shrubs  constituted  the  growth,  and  made  again  our  fire- 
wood. The  animals  were  driven  to  the  hill,  where  there  was 
tolerably  good  grass. 

26th. — Our  general  course  was  again  south.  The  country 
consists  of  larger  or  smaller  basins,  into  which  the  mountain 
waters  run  down,  forming  small  lakes :  they  present  a  perfect 
level,  from  which  the  mountains  rise  immediately  and  abruptly. 
Between  the  successive  basins,  the  dividing  grounds  are  usu- 
ally very  slight ;  and  it  is  probable  that  in  the  seasons  of  high 
water,  many  of  these  basins  are  in  communication.  At  such 
times  there  is  evidently  an  abundance  of  water,  though  now  we 


296 


CAPT.    FREMONT  S    AAKJIATIVE. 


[DEC. 


find  scarcely  more  than  the  dry  beds.  On  either  Jde,  the 
mountains,  though  not  very  high,  appear  to  be  rocky  and  sterile. 
The  basin  in  which  we  were  traveling  declined  towards  the 
southwest  corner,  where  the  mountains  indicated  a  narrow  out- 
let ;  and,  turning  round  a  rocky  point  or  cape,  we  continued 
up  a  lateral  branch  valley,  in  which  we  encamped  at  night,  on 
a  rapid,  pretty  little  stream  of  fresh  water,  which  we  found  un- 
expectedly among  the  sage,  near  the  ridge,  on  the  right  side  of 
the  valley.  It  was  bordered  with  grassy  bottoms  and  clumps 
of  willows ;  the  water  partially  frozen.  This  stream  belongs 
to  the  basin  we  had  left.  By  a  partial  observation  to-night,  our 
camp  was  found  to  be  directly  on  the  42d  parallel.  To-night 
a  horse  belonging  to  Carson,  one  of  the  best  we  had  in  the. 
camp,  was  stolen  by  the  Indians. 

27th. — We  continued  up  the  valley  of  the  stream,  the  prin 
cipal  branch  of  which  here  issues  from  a  bed  of  high  moun- 
tains. We  turned  up  a  branch  to  the  left,  and  fell  into  an  In- 
dian trail,  which  conducted  us  by  a  good  road  over  open  bottoms 
along  the  creek,  where  the  snow  was  five  or  six  inches  deep. 
Gradually  ascending,  the  trail  led  through  a  good  broad  pass 
in  the  mountain,  where  we  found  the  snow  about  one  foot  deep. 
There  were  some  remarkably  large  cedars  in  the  pass,  which 
were  covered  with  an  unusual  quantity  of  frost,  which  we  sup- 
posed might  possibly  indicate  the  neighborhood  of  water ;  and 
as,  in  the  arbitrary  position  of  Mary's  lake,  we  were  already 
beginning  to  look  for  it,  this  circumstance  contributed  to  our 
hope  of  finding  it  near.  Descending  from  the  mountain,  we 
reached  another  basin,  on  the  flat  lake  bed  of  which  we  found 
no  water,  and  encamped  among  the  sage  on  the  bordering  plain, 
where  the  snow  was  still  about  one  foot  deep.  Among  this  the 
grass  was  remarkably  green,  and  to-night  the  animals  fared 
tolerably  well. 

28th. — The  snow  being  deep,  I  had  determined,  if  any  more 
horses  were  stolen,  to  follow  the  tracks  of  the  Indians  into  the 
mountains,  and  put  a  temporary  check  to  their  sly  operations ; 
but  it  did  not  occur  again. 

Our  road  this  morning  lay  down  a  level  valley,  bordered 
by  steep  mountainous  ridges,  rising  very  abruptly  from  the 


1843. J  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  297 

plain.  Artemisia  was  the  principal  plant,  mingled  with  Fre- 
montia  and  the  chenopodiaceous  shrubs.  The  artemisia  was 
here  extremely  large,  being  sometimes  a  foot  in  diameter,  and 
eight  feet  high.  Riding  quietly  along  over  the  snow,  we  came 
suddenly  upon  smokes  rising  among  these  bushes ;  and,  gal- 
loping up,  we  found  two  huts,  open  at  the  top,  and  loosely  built 
of  sage,  which  appeared  to  have  been  deserted  at  the  instant ; 
and,  looking  hastily  around,  we  saw  several  Indians  on  the 
crest  of  the  ridge  near  by,  and  several  others  scrambling  up 
the  side.  We  had  come  upon  them  so  suddenly,  that  they 
had  been  well-nigh  surprised  in  their  lodges.  A  sage  fire  was 
burning  in  the  middle ;  a  few  baskets  made  of  straw  were 
lying  about,  with  one  or  two  rabbit-skins ;  and  there  was  a 
little  grass  scattered  about,  on  which  they  had  been  lying. 
"  Tabibo — bo  !"  they  shouted  from  the  hills — a  word  which,  in 
the  Snake  language,  signifies  white — and  remained  looking  at 
us  from  behind  the  rocks.  Carson  and  Godey  rode  towards 
the  hill,  but  the  men  ran  off  like  deer.  They  had  been  so 
much  pressed,  that  a  woman  with  two  children  had  dropped 
behind  a  sage-bush  near  the  lodge,  and  when  Carson  acci- 
dentally stumbled  upon  her,  she  immediately  began  screaming 
in  the  extremity  of  fear,  and  shut  her  eyes  fast  to  avoid  seeing 
him.  She  was  brought  back  to  the  lodge,  and  we  endeavored 
in  vain  to  open  a  communication  with  the  men.  By  dint  of 
presents,  and  friendly  demonstrations,  she  was  brought  to  calm- 
ness ;  and  we  found  that  they  belonged  to  the  Snake  nation, 
speaking  the  language  of  that  people.  Eight  or  ten  appeared 
to  live  together,  under  the  same  little  shelter ;  and  they  seemed 
to  have  no  other  subsistence  than  the  roots  or  seeds  they  might 
have  stored  up,  and  the  hares  which  live  in  the  sage,  and  which 
they  are  enabled  to  track  through  the  snow,  and  are  very 
skilful  in  killing.  Their  skins  afford  them  a  little  scanty  cov- 
ering. Herding  together  among  bushes,  and  crouching  almost 
naked  over  a. little  sage  fire,  using  their  instinct  only  to  procure 
food,  these  may  be  considered,  among  human  beings,  the  near- 
est approach  to  the  animal  creation.  We  have  reason  to  believe 
that  these  had  never  before  seen  the  face  of  a  white  man. 
The  day  had  been  pleasant,  but  about  two  o'clock  it  began 
13* 


298  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [Dec. 

to  blow  ;  and  crossing  a  slight  dividing  ground  we  encamped  on 
the  sheltered  side  of  a  hill,  where  there  was  good  bunch-grass, 
having  made  a  dayNs  journey  of  24  miles.  The  night  closed  in, 
threatening  snow  ;  but  the  large  sage-bushes  made  bright  fires. 

29th. — The  morning  mild,  and  at  4  o'clock  it  commenced 
snowing.  We  took  our  way  across  a  plain,  thickly  covereo 
with  snow,  towards  a  range  of  hills  in  the  southeast.  The 
sky  soon  became  so  dark  with  snow,  that  little  could  be  seer 
of  the  surrounding  country ;  and  we  reached  the  summit  of 
the  hills  in  a  heavy  snow-storm.  On  the  side  we  had  ap 
proached,  this  had  appeared  to  be  only  a  ridge  of  low  hills  ; 
and  we  were  surprised  to  find  ourselves  on  the  summit  of  a  bed 
of  broken  mountains,  which,  as  far  as  the  weather  would 
permit  us  to  see,  declined  rapidly  to  some  low  country  ahead, 
presenting  a  dreary  and  savage  character ;  and  for  a  moment 
I  looked  around  in  doubt  on  the  wild  and  inhospitable  prospect, 
scaicely  knowing  what  road  to  take  which  might  conduct  us 
to  some  place  of  shelter  for  the  night.  Noticing  among  the 
hills  the  head  of  a  grassy  hollow,  I  determined  to  follow  it,  in 
the  hope  that  it  would  conduct  us  to  a  stream.  We  followed 
a  winding  descent  for  several  miles,  the  hollow  gradually 
broadening  into  little  meadows,  and  becoming  the  bed  of  a 
stream  as  we  advanced  ;  and  towards  night  we  were  agreeably 
surprised  by  the  appearance  of  a  willow  grove,  where  we 
found  a  sheltered  camp,  with  water  and  excellent  and  abundant 
grass.  The  grass,  which  was  covered  by  the  'snow  on  the 
bottom,  was  long  and  green,  and  the  face  of  the  mountain  had 
a  more  favorable  character  in  its  vegetation,  being  smoother, 
and  covered  with  good  bunch-grass.  The  snpw  was  deep,  and 
the  night  very  cold.  A  broad  trail  had  entered  the  valley  from 
the  right,  and  a  short  distance  below  the  camp  were  the  tracks 
where  a  considerable  party  of  Indians  had  passed  on  horseback, 
who  had  turned  out  to  the  left,  apparently  with  the  view  of 
crossing  the  mountains  to  the  eastward. 

30th, — After  following  the  stream  for  a  few  hours  in  a 
southeasterly  direction,  it  entered  a  canon  where  we  could  no! 
follow ;  but,  determined  not  to  leave  the  stream,  we  searched 
a  passage  below,  where  we  could  regain  it,  and  entered  a  reg- 


1843.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  299 

ular  narrow  valley.  The  water  had  now  more  the  appearance 
of  a  flowing  creek  ;  several  times  we  passed  groves  of  willows, 
and  we  began  to  feel  ourselves  out  of  all  difficulty.  From  our 
position,  it  was  reasonable  to  conclude  that  this  stream  would 
find  its  outlet  in  Mary's  lake,  and  conduct  us  into  a  better 
country.  We  had  descended  rapidly,  and  here  we  found  very 
little  snow.  On  both  sides,  the  mountains  showed  often  stu- 
pendous and  curious-looking  rocks,  which  at  several  places  so 
narrowed  the  valley,  that  scarcely  a  pass  was  left  for  the  camp. 
It  was  a  singular  place  to  travel  through — shut  up  in  the  earth, 
a  sort  of  chasm,  the  little  strip  of  grass  under  our  feet,  the 
rough  walls  of  bare  rock  on  either  hand,  and  the  narrow  strip 
of  sky  above.  The  grass  to-night  was  abundant,  and  we  en- 
camped in  high  spirits. 

31st. — After  an  hour's  ride  this  morning,  our  hopes  were 
once  more  destroyed.  The  valley  opened  out,  and  before  us 
again  lay  one  of  the  dry  basins.  After  some  search,  we  dis- 
covered a  high-water  outlet,  which  brought  us  in  a  few  miles, 
and  by  a  descent  of  several  hundred  feet,  into  a  long,  broad 
basin,  in  which  we  found  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  obtained 
sufficient  water  by  cutting  the  ice.  The  grass  on  the  bottoms 
was  salt  and  unpalatable. 

Here  we  concluded  the  year  1843,  and  our  new  year's  eve  was 
rather  a  gloomy  one.  The  result  of  our  journey  began  to  be  very 
uncertain ;  the  country  was  singularly  unfavorable  to  travel ; 
the  grasses  being  frequently  of  a  very  unwholesome  character, 
and  the  hoofs  of  our  animals  were  so  worn  and  cut  by  the  rocks, 
that  many  of  them  were  lame,  and  could  scarcely  be  got  along. 


JANUARY. 

NEW  YEAR'S  DAT,  1844. — We  continued  down  the  valley, 
between  a  dry-looking  black  ridge  on  the  left,  and  a  more 
snowy  and  high  one  on  the  right.  Our  road  was  bad  along 
the  bottom,  being  broken  by  gullies  and  impeded  by  sage,  and 
sandy  on  the  hills,  where  there  is  not  a  blade  of  grass,  nor 
does  any  appear  on  the  mountains.  The  soil  in  many  places 


300  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

consists  of  a  fine  powdery  sand,  covered  with  a  saline  efflores- 
cence ;  and  the  general  character  of  the  country  is  deserU 
During  the  day  we  directed  our  course  towards  a  black  cape, 
at  the  foot  of  which  a  column  of  smoke  indicated  hot  springs. 

2d. — We  were  on  the  road  early.  The  face  of  the  country 
was  hidden  by  falling  snow.  We  traveled  along  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  in  some  places  dry,  in  others  covered  with  ice ;  the 
traveling  being  very  bad,  through  deep  fine  sand,  rendered 
tenacious  by  a  mixture  of  clay.  The  weather  cleared  up  a 
little  at  noon,  and  we  reached  the  hot  springs  of  which  we  had 
seen  the  vapor  the  day  before.  There  was  a  large  field  of  the 
usual  salt  grass  here,  peculiar  to  such  places.  The  country 
otherwise  is  a  perfect  barren,  without  a  blade  of  grass,  the 
only  plant  being  some  dwarf  Fremontias.  We  passed  the 
rocky  cape,  a  jagged  broken  point,  bare  and  torn.  The  rocks 
are  volcanic,  and  the  hills  here  have  a  burnt  appearance — 
cinders  and  coal  occasionally  appearing  as  at  a  blacksmith's 
forge.  We  crossed  the  large  dry  bed  of  a  muddy  lake  in  a 
southeasterly  direction,  and  encamped  at  night,  without  water 
and  without  grass,  among  sage-bushes  covered  with  snow. 
The  heavy  road  made  several  mules  give  out  to-day ;  and  a 
horse,  which  had  made  the  journey  from  the  States  success- 
fully, thus  far,  was  left  on  the  trail. 

3d. — A  fog,  so  dense  that  we  could  not  see  a  hundred  yards, 
covered  the  country,  and  the  men  that  were  sent  out  after  the 
horses  were  bewildered  and  lost ;  and  we  were  consequently 
detained  at  camp  until  late  in  the  day.  Our  situation  had 
now  become  a  serious  one.  We  had  reached  and  run  over 
the  position  where,  according  to  the  best  maps  in  my  posses- 
sion, we  should  have  found  Mary's  lake  or  river.  We  were 
evidently  on  the  verge  of  the  desert  which  had  been  reported 
to  us ;  and  the  appearance  of  the  country  was  so  forbidding, 
that  I  was  afraid  to  enter  it,  and  determined  to  bear  away  to 
the  southward,  keeping  close  along  the  mountains,  in  the  full 
expectation  of  reaching  the  Buenaventura  river.  This  morning 
I  put  every  man  in  the  camp  on  foot — myself,  of  course,  among 
the  rest — and  in  this  manner  lightened  by  distribution  the  loads 
of  the  animals.  We  traveled  seven  or  eight  miles  along  the 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  301 

ridge  bordering  the  valley,  and  encamped  where  there  were  a 
few  bunches  of  grass  on  the  bed  of  a  hill-torrent,  without  wa- 
ter. There  were  some  large  artemisias;  but  the  principal 
plants  are  chenopodiaceous  shrubs.  The  rock  composing  the 
mountains  is  here  changed  suddenly  into  white  granite.  The 
fog  showed  the  tops  of  the  hills  at  sunset,  and  stars  enough  for 
observations  in  the  early  evening,  and  then  closed  over  us  as 
before.  Latitude  by  observation,  40°  48'  15". 

4th. — The  fog  to-day  was  still  more  dense,  and  the  people 
again  were  bewildered.  We  traveled  a  few  miles  around 
the  western  point  of  the  ridge,  and  encamped  where  there 
were  a  few  tufts  of  grass,  but  no  water.  Our  animals  now 
were  in  a  very  alarming  state,  and  there  was  increased  anx- 
iety in  the  camp. 

5th. — Same  dense  fog  continued,  and  one  of  the  mules  died 
in  camp  this  morning.  I  have  had  occasion  to  remark,  on 
such  occasions  as  these,  that  animals  which  are  about  to  die 
leave  the  band,  and,  coming  into  the  camp,  lie  down  about  the 
fires.  We  moved  to  a  place  where  there  was  a  little  better 
grass,  about  two  miles  distant.  Taplin,  one  of  our  best  men, 
who  had  gone  out  on  a  scouting  excursion,  ascended  a  moun- 
tain near  by,  and  to  his  surprise  emerged  into  a  region  of 
bright  sunshine,  in  which  the  upper  parts  of  the  mountain 
were  glowing,  while  below  all  was  obscured  in  the  dark- 
est fog. 

6th. — The  fog  continued  the  same,  and,  with  Mr.  Preuss 
and  Carson,  I  ascended  the  mountain,  to  sketch  the  leading 
features  of  the  country  as  some  indication  of  our  future  route, 
while  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  explored  the  country  below.  In  a  very 
short  distance  we  had  ascended  above  the  mist,  but  the  view 
obtained  was  not  very  gratifying.  The  fog  had  partially 
cleared  off  from  below  when  we  reached  the  summit ;  and  in 
the  southwest  corner  of  a  basin  communicating  with  that  in 
which  we  had  encamped,  we  saw  a  lofty  column  of  smoke,  16 
miles  distant,  indicating  the  presence  of  hot  springs.  There, 
also,  appeared  to  be  the  outlet  of  those  draining  channels  of  the 
country ;  and,  as  such  places  afforded  always  more  or  less 
grass,  I  determined  to  steer  in  that  direction.  The  ridge  we 


302  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

had  ascended  appeared  to  be  composed  of  fragments  of  white 
granite.  We  saw  here  traces  of  sheep  and  antelope. 

Entering  the  neighboring  valley,  and  crossing  the  bed  of 
another  lake,  after  a  hard  day's  travel  over  ground  of  yielding 
mud  and  sand,  we  reached  the  springs,  where  we  found  an 
abundance  of  grass,  which,  though  only  tolerably  good,  made 
this  place,  with  reference  to  the  past,  a  refreshing  and  agree- 
able spot. 

This  is  the  most  extraordinary  locality  of  hot  springs  we  had 
met  during  the  journey.  The  basin  of  the  largest  one  has  a 
circumference  of  several  hundred  feet ;  but  there  is  at  one  ex- 
tremity a  circular  space  of  about  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  en- 
tirely occupied  by  the  boiling  water.  It  boils  up  at  irregular 
intervals,  and  with  much  noise.  The  water  is  clear,  and  the 
spring  deep  :  a  pole  about  sixteen  feet  long  was  easily  immersed 
in  the  centre  ;  but  we  had  no  means  of  forming  a  good  idea  of 
the  depth.  It  was  surrounded  on  the  margin  with  a  border  of 
green  grass,  and  near  the  shore  the  temperature  of  the  water 
was  206°.  We  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  that  of  the 
centre,  where  the  heat  was  greatest ;  but,  by  dispersing  the 
water  with  a  pole,  the  temperature  at  the  margin  was  increased 
to  208°,  and  in  the  centre  it  was  doubtless  higher.  By  driving 
the  pole  towards  the  bottom,  the  water  was  made  to  boil  up 
with  increased  force  and  noise.  There  are  several  other  inter- 
esting places,  where  water  and  smoke  or  gas  escape  ;  but  they 
would  require  a  long  description.  The  water  is  impregnated 
with  common  salt,  but  not  so  much  as  to  render  it.  unfit  for  gen- 
eral cooking ;  and  a  mixture  of  snow  made  it  pleasant,  to 
drink. 

In  the  immediate  neighborhood,  the  valley  bottom  is  covered 
almost  exclusively  with  chenopodiaceous  shrubs,  of  greater 
luxuriance,  and  larger  growth,  than  we  have  seen  them  in  any 
preceding  part  of  the  journey. 

I  obtained  this  evening  some  astronomical  observations. 

Our  situation  now  required  caution.  Including  those  which 
gave  out  from  the  injured  condition  of  their  feet,  and  those 
stolen  by  Indians,  we  had  lost,  since  leaving  the  Dalles  of  the 
Columbia,  fifteen  animals ;  and  of  these,  nine  had  been  left  in 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  303 

the  last  lew  days.  1  therefore  determined,  until  we  should 
reach  a  country  of  water  and  vegetation,  to  feel  our  way  ahead, 
by  having  the  line  of  route  explored  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  in  advance,  and  only  to  leave  a  present  encampment 
when  the  succeeding  one  was  known. 

Taking  with  me  Godey  and  Carson,  I  made  to-day  a  thorough 
exploration  of  the  neighboring  valleys,  and  found  in  a  ravine, 
in  the  bordering  mountains,  a  good  encamping  place,  where 
was  water  in  springs,  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  grass  for  a 
night.  Overshadowing  the  springs  were  some  trees  of  the 
sweet  ccttonwood,  which,  after  a  long  interval  of  absence,  we 
saw  again  with  pleasure ;  regarding  them  as  harbingers  of  a 
better  country.  To  us,  they  were  eloquent  of  green  prairies 
and  buffalo.  We  found  here  a  broad  and  plainly-marked  trail, 
on  which  there  were  tracks  of  horses,  and  we  appeared  to  have 
regained  one  of  the  thoroughfares  which  pass  by  the  watering- 
places  of  the  country.  On  the  western  mountains  of  the  val- 
ley, with  which  this  of  the  boiling  spring  communicates,  we 
remarked  scattered  cedars — probably  indicating  that  we  were 
on  the  borders  of  the  timbered  region  extending  to  the  Pacific. 
We  reached  the  camp  at  sunset,  after  a  day's  ride  of  about 
40  miles.  The  horses  we  rode  were  in  good  order,  being  of 
some  that  were  kept  for  emergencies,  and  rarely  used. 

Mr.  Preuss  had  ascended  one  of  the  mountains,  and  occupied 
the  day  in  sketching  the  country;  and  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  had 
found,  a  few  miles  distant,  a  hollow  of  excellent  grass  and  pure 
water,  to  which  the  animals  were  driven,  as  I  remained  another 
day  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  recruit  their  strength.  In- 
dians  appear  to  be  everywhere  prowling  about  like  wild  ani- 
mals, and  there  is  a  fresh  trail  across  the  snow  in  the  valley  near. 

Latitude  of  the  boiling  springs,  40°  39'  46". 

On  the  9th  we  crossed  over  to  the  cottonwood  camp.  Among 
the  shrubs  on  the  hills  were  a  few  bushes  ofephedra  occidentalism 
which  afterwards  occurred  frequently  along  the  road,  and,  as 
usual,  the  lowlands  were  occupied  with  artemisia.  While  the 
party  proceeded  to  this  place,  Carson  and  myself  reconnoitred 
the  road  in  advance,  and  found  another  good  encampment  for 
the  following  day. 


304  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

10th. — We  continued  our  reconnoissance  ahead,  pursuing  a 
south  direction  in  the  basin  along  the  ridge ;  the  camp  follow- 
ing slowly  after.  On  a  large  trail  there  is  never  any  doubt 
of  finding  suitable  places  for  encampments.  We  reached  the 
end  of  the  basin,  where  we  found,  in  a  hollow  of  the  mountain 
which  enclosed  it,  an  abundance  of  good  bunch-grass.  Leav- 
ing a  signal  for  the  party  to  encamp,  we  continued  our  way 
up  the  hollow,  intending  to  see  what  lay  beyond  the  mountain. 
The  hollow  was  several  miles  long,  forming  a  good  pass ;  the 
snow  deepening  to  about  a  foot  as  we  neared  the  summit.  Be- 
yond, a  defile  between  the  mountains  descended  rapidly  about 
two  thousand  feet ;  and,  filling  up  all  the  lower  space,  was  a 
sheet  of  green  water,  some  twenty  miles  broad.  It  broke  upon 
our  eyes  like  the  ocean.  The  neighboring  peaks  rose  high 
above  us,  and  we  ascended  one  of  them  to  obtain  a  better  view. 
The  waves  were  curling  in  the  breeze,  and  their  dark-green 
color  showed  it  to  be  a  body  of  deep  water.  For  a  long  time 
we  sat  enjoying  the  view,  for  we  had  become  fatigued  with 
mountains,  and  the  free  expanse  of  moving  waves  was  very 
grateful.  It  was  set  like  a  gem  in  the  mountains,  which,  from 
our  position,  seemed  to  enclose  it  almost  entirely.  At  the  west- 
ern end  it  communicated  with  the  line  of  basins  we  had  left  a 
few  days  since ;  and  on  the  opposite  side  it  swept  a  ridge  of 
snowy  mountains,  the  foot  of  the  great  Sierra.  Its  position  at 
first  inclined  us  to  believe  it  Mary's  lake,  but  the  rugged  moun- 
tains were  so  entirely  discordant  with  descriptions  of  its  low 
rushy  shores  and  open  country,  that  we  concluded  it  some  un- 
known body  of  water,  which  it  afterwards  proved  to  be. 

On  our  road  down,  the  next  day,  we  saw  herds  of  mountain 
sheep,  and  encamped  on  a  little  stream  at  the  mouth  of  the  de- 
file, about  a  mile  from  the  margin  of  the  water,  to  which  we 
hurried  down  immediately.  The  water  is  so  slightly  salt,  that, 
at  first,  we  thought  it  fresh,  and  would  be  pleasant  to  drink 
when  no  other  could  be  had.  The  shore  was  rocky — a  hand- 
some beach,  which  reminded  us  of  the  sea.  On  some  large 
granite  boulders  that  were  scattered  about  the  shore,  I  remark- 
ed a  coating  of  calcareous  substance,  in  s  jme  places  a  few 
inches,  and  in  others  a  foot  in  thickness.  Near  our  camp,  the 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  305 

hills,  which  were  of  primitive  rock,  were  also  covered  with 
this  substance,  which  was  in  too  great  quantity  on  the  moun- 
tains along  the  shore  of  the  lake  to  have  been  deposited  by 
water,  and  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  spread  over  the 
rocks  in  mass.* 

Where  we  had  halted  appeared  to  be  a  favorite  camping- 
place  for  Indians. 

13th. — We  followed  again  a  broad  Indian  trail  along  the 
shore  of  the  lake  to  the  southward.  For  a  short  space  we  had 
room  enough  in  the  bottom ;  but,  after  traveling  a  short  dis- 
tance, the  water  swept  the  foot  of  the  precipitous  mountains, 
the  peaks  of  which  are  about  3,000  feet  above  the  lake.  The 
trail  wound  along  the  base  of  these  precipices,  against  which 
the  water  dashed  below,  by  a  way  nearly  impracticable  for  the 
howitzer.  During  a  greater  part  of  the  morning  the  lake  was 
nearly  hid  by  a  snow-storm,  and  the  waves  broke  on  the  nar- 
row beach  in  a  long  line  of  foaming  serf,  five  or  six  feet  high. 
The  day  was  unpleasantly  cold,  the  wind  driving  the  snow 
sharp  against  our  faces ;  and,  having  advanced  only  about  12 
miles,  we  encamped  in  a  bottom  formed  by  a  ravine,  covered 
with  good  grass,  which  was  fresh  and  green. 

We  did  not  get  the  howitzer  into  camp,  but  were  obliged  to 
leave  it  on  the  rocks  until  morning.  We  saw  several  flocks 
of  sheep,  but  did  not  succeed  in  killing  any.  Ducks  were 
riding  on  the  waves,  and  several  large  fish  were  seen.  The 
mountain  sides  were  crusted  with  the  calcareous  cement  pre- 
viously mentioned.  There  were  chenopodiaceous  and  other 


*  The  label  attached  to  a  specimen  of  this  rock  was  lost ;  but  I  ap- 
pend an  analysis  of  that  which,  from  memory,  I  judge  to  be  the  speci- 
men: 

Carbonate  of  lime    .         .        ^.v/r    » -  *'    v        .  *     .       77-31 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 5*25 

Oxide  of  iron  *     .  ?i      v    .  V       •        .        .         1*60 

Alumina .         1-05 

Silica      ....      »**s*'—  ^        ,      '.        8-55 
Organic  matter,  water,  and  loss       .        .     '  '.       ;l   '    6-24 

100-00 


306  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

shrubs  along  the  beach ;  and,  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks,  an  abun- 
dance of  ephedra  occidentalism  whose  dark-green  color  makes 
them  evergreens  among  the  shrubby  growth  of  the  lake.  To- 
wards evening  the  snow  began  to  fall  heavily,  and  the  country 
had  a  wintry  appearance. 

The  next  morning  the  snow  was  rapidly  melting  under  a 
warm  sun.  Part  of  the  morning  was  occupied  in  bringing  up 
the  gun  ;  and,  making  only  nine  miles,  we  encamped  on  the 
shore,  opposite  a  very  remarkable  rock  in  the  lake,  which  had 
attracted  our  attention  for  many  miles.  It  rose,  according  to 
our  estimate,  600  feet  above  the  water,  and,  from  the  point  we 
viewed  it,  presented  a  pretty  exact  outline  of  the  great  pyra- 
mid of  Cheops.  Like  other  rocks  along  the  shore,  it  seemed 
to  be  incrusted  with  calcareous  cement.  This  striking  feature 
suggested  a  name  for  the  lake,  and  I  called  it  Pyramid  Lake  ; 
and  though  it  may  be  deemed  by  some  a  fanciful  resemblance, 
I  can  undertake  to  say  that  the  future  traveler  will  find  much 
more  striking  resemblance  between  this  rock  and  the  pyramids 
of  Egypt,  than  there  is  between  them  and  the  object  from  which 
they  take  their  name. 

The  elevation  of  this  lake  above  the  sea  is  4,890  feet,  being 
nearly  700  feet  higher  than  the  Great  Salt  lake,  from  which  it 
lies  nearly  west,  and  distant  about  eight  degrees  of  longitude. 
The  position  and  elevation  of  this  lake  make  it  an  object  of 
geographical  interest.  It  is  the  nearest  lake  to  the  western 
rim,  as  the  Great  Salt  lake  is  to  the  eastern  rim,  of  the  Great 
Basin  which  lies  between  the  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains 
and  the  Sierra  Nevada — and  the  extent  and  character  of 
which,  its  whole  circumference  and  contents,  it  is  so  desirable 
to  know. 

The  last  of  the  cattle  which  had  been  driven  from  the 
Dalles  was  killed  here  for  food,  and  was  still  in  good  condi- 
tion. 

15th. — A  few  poor-looking  Indians  made  their  appearance 
this  morning,  and  we  succeeded  in  getting  one  into  the  camp. 
He  was  naked,  with  the  exception  of  a  tunic  of  hare-skins. 
He  told  us  that  there  was  a  river  at  the  end  of  the  lake,  but 
that  he  lived  in  the  rocks  near  by.  From  the  few  words  our 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  807 

people  could  understand,  he  spoke  a  dialect  of  the  Snake  lan- 
guage ;  but  we  were  not  ahlo  10  understand  enough  to  know 
whether  the  river  ran  in  or  out,  or  what  was  its  course  ;  con- 
sequently, there  still  remained  a  chance  that  this  might  be 
Mary's  lake. 

Groves  of  large  cottonwood,  which  we  could  see  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  indicated  that  it  was  a  stream  of  considerable  size, 
and,  at  all  events,  we  had  the  pleasure  to  know  that  now  we 
were  in  a  country  where  human  beings  could  live.  Accom- 
panied by  the  Indian,  we  resumed  our  road,  passing  on  the 
way  several  caves  in  the  rock  where  there  were  baskets  and 
seeds,  but  the  people  had  disappeared.  We  saw  also  horse- 
tracks  along  the  shore. 

Early  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  were  approaching  the 
groves  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  three  or  four  Indians  met  us 
on  the  trail.  We  had  an  explanatory  conversation  in  signs, 
and  then  we  moved  on  together  towards  the  village,  which  the 
chief  said  was  encamped  on  the  bottom. 

Reaching  the  groves,  we  found  the  inlet  of  a  large  fresh- 
water stream,  and  all  at  once  were  satisfied  that  it  was  neither 
Mary's  river  nor  the  waters  of  the  Sacramento,  but  that  we 
had  discovered  a  large  interior  lake,  which  the  Indians  inform- 
ed us  had  no  outlet.  It  is  about  35  miles  long,  and,  by  the 
mark  of  the  water-line  along  the  shore,  the  spring  level  is 
about  12  feet  above  its  present  waters.  The  chief  commenced 
speaking  in  a  loud  voice  as  we  approached ;  and  parties  of  In- 
dians, armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  issued  from  the  thickets. 
We  selected  a  strong  place  for  our  encampment — a  grassy 
bottom,  nearly  enclosed  by  the  river,  and  furnished  with  abun- 
dant firewood.  The  village,  a  collection  of  straw  huts,  was  a 
few  hundred  yards  higher  up.  An  Indian  brought  in  a  large 
fish  to  trade,  which  we  had  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  to 
find  was  a  salmon-trout  j  we  gathered  round  him  eagerly. 
The  Indians  were  amused  with  our  delight,  and  immediately 
brought  in  numbers,  so  that  the  camp  was  soon  stocked.  Their 
flavor  was  excellent — superior,  in  fact,  to  that  of  any  fish  I 
have  ever  known.  They  were  of  extraordinary  size — about 
as  large  as  the  Columbia  River  salmon — generally  from  two 


308  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [!AN. 

to  four  feet  in  length.  From  the  information  of  Mr.  Walker, 
who  passed  among  some  lakes  lying  more  to  the  eastward,  this 
fish  is  common  to  the  streams  of  the  inland  lakes.  He  subse- 
quently informed  me  that  he  had  obtained  them  weighing  six 
pounds  when  cleaned  and  the  head  taken  off,  which  corre- 
sponds very  well  with  the  size  of  those  obtained  at  this  place. 
They  doubtless  formed  the  subsistence  of  these  people,  who 
hold  the  fishery  in  exclusive  possession. 

I  remarked  that  one  of  them  gave  a  fish  to  the  Indian  we 
had  first  seen,  which  he  carried  off  to  his  family.  To  them  it 
was  probably  a  feast;  being  of  the  Digger  tribe,  and  having 
no  share  in  the  fishery,  living  generally  on  seeds  and  roots. 
Although  this  was  a  time  of  the  year  when  the  fish  have  not 
yet  become  fat,  they  were  excellent,  and  we  could  only  im- 
agine what  they  are  at  the  proper  season.  These  Indians 
were  very  fat,  and  appeared  to  live  an  easy  and  happy  life. 
They  crowded  into  the  camp  more  than  was  consistent  with 
our  safety,  retaining  always  their  arms ;  and,  as  they  made 
some  unsatisfactory  demonstrations,  they  were  given  to  un- 
derstand that  they  would  not  be  permitted  to  come  armed  into 
the  camp  ;  and  strong  guards  were  kept  with  the  horses. 
Strict  vigilance  was  maintained  among  the  people,  and  one- 
third  at  a  time  were  kept  on  guard  during  the  night.  There 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  these  dispositions,  uniformly  pre- 
served, conducted  our  party  securely  through  Indians  famed 
for  treachery. 

In  the  mean  time,  such  a  salmon-trout  feast  as  is  seldom 
seen  was  going  on  in  our  camp ;  and  every  variety  of  manner 
in  which  fish  could  be  prepared — boiled,  fried,  and  roasted  in 
the  ashes — was  put  into  requisition ;  and  every  few  minutes 
an  Indian  would  be  seen  running  off  to  spear  a  fresh  one. 
Whether  these  Indians  had  seen  whites  before,  we  could  not 
be  certain ;  but  they  were  evidently  in  communication  with 
others  who  had,  as  one  of  them  had  some  brass  buttons,  and 
we  noticed  several  other  articles  of  civilized  manufacture. 
We  could  obtain  from  them  but  little  information  respecting 
the  country.  They  made  on  the  ground  a  drawing  of  the 
river,  which  they  represented  as  issuing  from  another  lake  in 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  309 

the  mountains  three  or  four  days  distant,  in  a  direction  a  little 
west  of  south ;  beyond  which,  they  drew  a  mountain ;  and 
further  still,  two  rivers ;  on  one  of  which  they  told  us  that 
people  like  ourselves  traveled.  Whether  they  alluded  to  the 
settlements  on  the  Sacramento,  or  to  a  party  from  the  United 
States  which  had  crossed  the  Sierra  about  three  degrees  to  the 
southward,  a  few  years  since,  I  am  unable  to  determine. 

I  tried  unsuccessfully  to  prevail  on  some  of  them  to  guide  us 
for  a  few  days  on  the  road,  but  they  only  looked  at  each  other 
and  laughed. 

The  latitude  of  our  encampment,  which  may  be  considered 
the  mouth  of  the  inlet,  is  39°  5 1/  13"  by  our  observations. 

16th. — This  morning  we  continued  our  journey  along  this 
beautiful  stream,  which  we  naturally  called  the  Salmon  Trout 
river.  Large  trails  led  ap  on  either  side ;  the  stream  was 
handsomely  timbered  with  large  cottonwoods ;  and  the  waters 
were  very  clear  and  pure.  We  were  traveling  along  the 
mountains  of  the  great  Sierra,  which  rose  on  our  right,  covered 
with  snow  ;  but  below  the  temperature  was  mild  and  pleasant. 
We  saw  a  number  of  dams  which  the  Indians  had  constructed 
to  catch  fish.  After  having  made  about  18  miles,  we  encamp- 
ed under  some  large  cottonwoods  on  the  river  bottom,  where 
there  was  tolerably  good  grass. 

17th. — This  morning  we  left  the  river,  which  here  issues  from 
the  mountains  on  the  west.  With  every  stream  I  now  expected 
to  see  the  great  Buenaventura  ;  and  Carson  hurried  eagerly  to 
search,  on  every  one  we  reached,  for  beaver  cuttings,  which 
he  always  maintained  we  should  find  only  on  waters  that  ran 
to  the  Pacific  ;  and  the  absence  of  such  signs  was  to  him  a  sure 
indication  that  the  water  had  no  outlet  from  the  Great  Basin.  We 
followed  the  Indian  trail  through  a  tolerably  level  country,  with 
small  sage-bushes,  which  brought  us,  after  20  miles'  journey, 
to  another  large  stream,  timbered  with  cottonwood,  and  flow- 
ing also  out  of  the  mountains,  but  running  more  directly  to  the 
eastward. 

On  the  way  we  surprised  a  family  of  Indians  in  the  hills  ; 
but  the  man  ran  up  the  mountain  with  rapidity  ;  and  the  wo- 
man was  so  terrified,  and  kept  up  such  a  continued  scream. 


310  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAW. 

ing,  that  we  could  do  nothing  with  her,  and  were  obliged  to  let 
her  go. 

18th. — There  were  Indian  lodges  and  fish-dams  on  the  stream. 
There  were  no  beaver  cuttings  on  the  river ;  but  below,  it 
turned  round  to  the  right ;  and,  hoping  that  it  would  prove  a 
branch  of  the  Buenaventura,  we  followed  it  down  for  about 
three  hours,  and  encamped. 

I  rode  out  with  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and  Carson  to  reconnoitre 
the  country,  which  had  evidently  been  alarmed  by  the  news 
of  our  appearance.  This  stream  joined  with  the  open  valley 
of  another  to  the  eastward ;  but  which  way  the  main  water 
ran,  it  was  impossible  to  tell.  Columns  of  smoke  rose  over  the 
country  at  scattered  intervals — signals  by  which  the  Indians 
here,  as  elsewhere,  communicate  to  each  other  that  enemies  are 
in  the  country.  It  is  a  signal  of  ancient  and  very  universal 
application  among  barbarians. 

Examining  into  the  condition  of  the  animals  when  I  return- 
ed  into  the  camp,  I  found  their  feet  so  much  cut  up  by  the 
rocks,  and  so  many  of  them  lame,  that  it  was  evidently  impos- 
sible that  they  could  cross  the  country  to  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains. Every  piece  of  iron  that  could  be  used  for  the  purpose 
had  been  converted  into  nails,  and  we  could  make  no  further 
use  of  the  shoes  we  had  remaining.  I  therefore  determined 
to  abandon  my  eastern  course,  and  to  cross  the  Sierra  Nevada 
into  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  wherever  a  practicable  pass 
could  be  found.  My  decision  was  heard  with  joy  by  the  peo- 
ple, and  diffused  new  life  throughout  the  camp. 

Latitude,  by  observation,  39°  24'  16". 

19th. — A  great  number  of  smokes  are  still  visible  this  morn- 
ing, attesting  at  once  the  alarm  our  appearance  had  spread 
among  these  people,  and  their  ignorance  of  us.  If  they 
knew  the  whites,  they  would  understand  that  their  only  ob- 
ject in  coming  among  them  was  to  trade,  which  required 
peace  and  friendship ;  but  they  have  nothing  to  trade — con- 
sequently, nothing  to  attract  the  white  man ;  hence  their  feai 
and  flight. 

At  daybreak  we  had  a  heavy  snow ;  but  set  out,  and,  re 
turning  up  the  stream,  went  out  of  our  way  in  a  circuit  ovei 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  811 

a  little  mountain ;  and  encamped  on  the  same  stream,  a  few 
miles  above,  in  latitude  39°  19'  21"  by  observation. 

20th. — To-day  we  continued  up  the  stream,  and  encamped 
on  it  close  to  the  mountains.  The  freshly  fallen  snow  was 
covered  with  the  tracks  of  Indians,  who  had  descended  from 
the  upper  waters,  probably  called  down  by  the  smokes  in  the 
plain. 

We  ascended  a  peak  of  the  range,  which  commanded  a  view 
of  this  stream  behind  the  first  ridge,  where  it  was  winding  its 
course  through  a  somewhat  open  valley,  and  I  sometimes  re- 
gret that  I  did  not  make  the  trial  to  cross  here ;  but  while  we 
had  fair  weather  below,  the  mountains  were  darkened  with 
falling  snow,  and,  feeling  unwilling  to  encounter  them,  we 
turned  away  again  to  the  southward.  In  that  direction  we 
traveled  the  next  day  over  a  tolerably  level  country,  having 
always  the  high  mountains  on  the  west.  There  was  but  little 
snow  or  rock  on  the  ground ;  and,  after  having  traveled  24 
miles,  we  encamped  again  on  another  large  stream,  running 
off  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  to  meet  that  we  had  left. 
It  ran  through  broad  bottoms,  having  a  fine  meadow-land  ap- 
pearance. 

Latitude  39°  01'  53". 

22d. — We  traveled  up  the  stream  about  fourteen  miles,  to 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  from  which  one  branch  issued  in  the 
southwest,  the  other  flowing  S.S.E.  along  their  base.  Leaving 
the  camp  below,  we  ascended  the  range  through  which  the 
first  stream  passed,  in  a  canon  ;  on  the  western  side  was  a  circu- 
lar valley  about  15  miles  long,  through  which  the  stream  wound 
its  way,  issuing  from  a  gorge  in  the  main  mountain,  which 
rose  abruptly  beyond.  The  valley  looked  yellow  with  faded 
grass ;  and  the  trail  we  had  followed  was  visible,  making  to- 
wards the  gorge,  and  this  was  evidently  a  pass ;  but  again, 
while  all  was  bright  sunshine  on  the  ridge  and  on  the  valley 
where  *_  were,  the  snow  was  falling  heavily  in  the  moun- 
tains. I  determine^  ^-  ^o  still  to  the  southward,  and  encamp- 
ed on  the  stream  near  the  fonts ,  !.S»  animals  being  fatigued 
and  the  grass  tolerably  good. 

The  rock  of  the  ridge  we  had  ascended  is  a  compact  lava,  as 


312  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

suming  a  granitic  appearance  and  structure,  and  containing, 
in  some  places,  small  nodules  of  obsidian.  So  far  as  composi- 
tion and  aspect  are  concerned,  the  rock  in  other  parts  of  the 
ridge  appears  to  be  granite ;  but  it  is  probable  that  this  is  only 
a  compact  form  of  lava  of  recent  origin. 

By  observation,  the  elevation  of  the  encampment  was  5,020 
feet ;  and  the  latitude  38°  49'  54". 

23d. — We  moved  along  the  course  of  the  other  branch  to- 
wards the  southeast,  the  country  affording  a  fine  road ;  and, 
passing  some  slight  dividing-grounds,  descended  towards  the 
valley  of  another  stream.  There  was  a  somewhat  rough-look- 
ing mountain  ahead,  which  it  appeared  to  issue  from,  or  to 
enter — we  could  not  tell  which  ;  and  as  the  course  of  the  val- 
ley and  the  inclination  of  the  ground  had  a  favorable  direction, 
we  were  sanguine  to  find  here  a  branch  of  the  Buenaventura ; 
but  were  again  disappointed,  finding  it  an  inland  water,  on 
which  we  encamped  after  a  day's  journey  of  24  miles.  It  was 
evident  that,  from  the  time  we  descended  into  the  plain  at 
Summer  lake,  we  had  been  flanking  the  great  range  of  moun- 
tains which  divided  the  Great  Basin  from  the  waters  of  the 
Pacific ;  and  that  the  continued  succession,  and  almost  con- 
nection, of  lakes  and  rivers  which  we  encountered,  were  the 
drainings  of  that  range.  Its  rains,  springs,  and  snows,  would 
sufficiently  account  for  these  lakes  and  streams,  numerous  as 
they  were. 

24th. — A  man  was  discovered  running  towards  the  camp  as 
we  were  about  to  start  this  morning,  who  proved  to  be  an  In- 
dian of  rather  advanced  age — a  sort  of  forlorn  hope,  who 
seemed  to  have  been  worked  up  into  the  resolution  of  visiting 
the  strangers  who  were  passing  through  the  country.  He 
seized  the  hand  of  the  first  man  he  met  as  he  came  up,  out  of 
breath,  and  held  on,  as  if  to  assure  himself  of  protection.  He 
brought  with  him,  in  a  little  skin  bag,  a  few  pounds  of  the 
seeds  of  a  pine-tree,  which  to-day  we  saw  for  the  first  time, 
and  which  Dr.  Torrey  has  described  as  a  new  species,  under 
the  name  ofpinus  monophyllus  ;  in  popular  language  it  might 
be  called  the  nut  pine.  We  purchased  them  all  from  him. 
The  nut  is  oily,  of  very  agreeable  flavor,  and  must  be  very 


1644.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  313 

nutritious,  as  it  constitutes  the  principal  subsistence  of  the 
tribes  among  which  we  were  now  traveling.  By  a  present 
of  scarlet  cloth,  and  other  striking  articles,  we  prevailed  upon 
this  man  to  be  our  guide  of  two  days'  journey.  As  clearly  as 
possible  by  signs,  we  made  him  understand  our  object ;  and 
he  engaged  to  conduct  us  in  sight  of  a  good  pass  which  he 
knew.  Here  we  ceased  to  hear  the  Shoshonee  language — 
that  of  this  man  being  perfectly  unintelligible.  Several  In- 
dians, who  had  been  waiting  to  see  what  reception  he  would 
meet  with,  now  came  into  camp ;  and,  accompanied  by  the 
new-comers,  we  resumed  our  journey. 

The  road  led  us  up  the  creek,  which  here  becomes  a  rather 
rapid  mountain  stream,  fifty  feet  wide,  between  dark-looking 
hills  without  snow ;  but  immediately  beyond  them  rose  snowy 
mountains  on  either  side,  timbered  principally  with  the  nut 
pine.  On  the  lower  grounds,  the  general  height  of  this  tree  is 
twelve  to  twenty  feet,  and  eight  inches  the  greatest  diameter ; 
it  is  rather  branching,  and  has  a  peculiar  and  singular,  but 
pleasant  odor.  We  followed  the  river  for  only  a  short  distance 
along  a  rocky  trail,  and  crossed  it  at  a  dam  which  the  Indians 
made  us  comprehend  had  been  built  to  catch  salmon  trout. 
The  snow  and  ice  were  heaped  up  against  it  three  or  four  feet 
deep  entirely  across  the  stream. 

Leaving  here  the  stream,  which  runs  through  impassable 
canons,  we  continued  our  road  over  a  very  broken  country, 
passing  through  a  low  gap  between  the  snowy  mountains. 
The  rock  which  occurs  immediately  in  the  pass  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  impure  sandstone,  containing  scales  of  black  mica. 
This  may  be  only  a  stratified  lava.  On  issuing  from  the  gap, 
the  compact  lava,  and  other  volcanic  products  usual  in  the 
country,  again  occurred.  We  descended  from  the  gap  into  a 
wide  valley,  or  rather  basin,  and  encamped  on  a  small  tribu- 
tary to  the  last  stream,  on  which  there  was  very  good  grass.  It 
was  covered  with  such  thick  ice,  that  it  required  some  labor  with 
pickaxes  to  make  holes  for  the  animals  to  drink.  The  banks 
are  lightly  wooded  with  willow,  and  on  the  upper  bottoms  are 
sage  and  Fremontia,  with  ephedra  occidentalis,  which  begins 
to  occur  more  frequently.  The  day  has  been  a  summer  one, 
14 


314  CAP-!.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN, 

warm  and  pleasant ;  no  snow  on  the  trail,  which,  as  we  are  ail 
on  foot,  makes  traveling  more  agreeable.  The  hunters  went 
into  a  neighboring  mountain,  but  found  no  game.  We  have 
five  Indians  in  camp  to-night. 

25th. — The  morning  was  cold  and  bright,  and  as  the  sun 
rose  the  day  became  beautiful.  A  party  of  twelve  Indians 
came  down  from  the  mountains  to  trade  pine  nuts,  of  which 
each  one  carried  a  little  bag.  These  seemed  now  to  be  the 
staple  of  the  country ;  and  whenever  we  met  an  Indian,  his 
friendly  salutation  consisted  in  offering  a  few  nuts  to  eat 
and  to  trade ;  their  only  arms  were  bows  and  flint-pointed 
arrows.  It  appeared  that  in  almost  all  the  valleys  the  neighbor, 
ing  bands  were  at  war  with  each  other  ;  and  we  had  some 
difficulty  in  prevailing  on  our  guides  to  accompany  us  on  this 
day's  journey,  being  at  war  with  the  people  on  the  other  side 
of  a  large  snowy  mountain  which  lay  before  us. 

The  general  level  of  the  country  appeared  to  be  getting 
higher,  and  we  were  gradually  entering  the  heart  of  the  moun- 
tains. Accompanied  by  all  the  Indians,  we  ascended  a  long 
ridge,  and  reached  a  pure  spring  at  the  edge  of  the  timber, 
where  the  Indians  had  waylaid  and  killed  an  antelope,  and 
where  the  greater  part  of  them  left  us.  Our  pacific  conduct 
had  quieted  their  alarms  ;  and  though  at  war  among  each  other, 
yet  all  confided  in  us — thanks  to  the  combined  effects  of  power 
and  kindness — for  our  arms  inspired  respect,  and  our  lit- 
tle presents  and  good  treatment  conciliated  their  confidence. 
Here  we  suddenly  entered  snow  six  inches  deep,  and  the  ground 
was  a  little  rocky,  with  volcanic  fragments,  the  mountain  ap- 
pearing to  be  composed  of  such  rock.  The  timber  consists 
principally  of  nut  pines,  (pinus  monophyllus,)  which  here  are 
of  larger  size — 12  to  15  inches  in  diameter;  heaps  of  cones 
lying  on  the  ground,  where  the  Indians  have  gathered  the 
seeds. 

The  snow  deepened  gradually  as  we  advanced.  Our  guides 
wore  out  their  moccasins ;  and  putting  one  of  them  on  a  horse, 
we  enjoyed  the  unusual  sight  of  an  Indian  who  could  not  ride. 
He  could  not  even  guide  the  animal,  and  appeared  to  have  no 
knowledge  of  horses.  The  snow  was  three  or  four  feet  deep 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  315 

on  the  summit  of  the  pass ;  and  from  this  point  the  guide  point- 
ed out  our  future  road,  declining  to  go  any  further.  Below  us 
was  a  little  valley ;  and  beyond  this  the  mountains  rose  high- 
er still,  one  ridge  above  another,  presenting  a  rude  and  rocky 
outline.  We  descended  rapidly  to  the  valley :  the  snow  im- 
peded us  but  little  j  yet  it  was  dark  when  we  reached  the  foot 
of  the  mountain. 

The  day  had  been  so  warm  that  our  moccasins  were  wet 
with  melting  snow ;  but  here,  as  soon  as  the  sun  begins  to  de- 
cline, the  air  gets  suddenly  cold,  and  we  had  great  difficulty 
to  keep  our  feet  from  freezing — our  moccasins  being  frozen 
perfectly  stiff.  After  a  hard  day's  march  of  27  miles,  we 
reached  the  river  some  time  after  dark,  and  found  the  snow 
about  a  foot  deep  on  the  bottom — the  river  being  entirely  frozen 
over.  We  found  a  comfortable  camp,  where  there  were  dry 
willows  abundant,  and  we  soon  had  blazing  fires.  A  little 
brandy,  which  I  husbanded  with  great  care,  remained,  and  I 
do  not  know  any  medicine  more  salutary,  or  any  drink  (except 
coffee)  more  agreeable,  than  this  in  a  cold  night  and  after  a 
hard  day's  march.  Mr.  Preuss  questioned  whether  the  famed 
nectar  ever  possessed  so  exquisite  a  flavor.  All  felt  it  to  be  a 
reviving  cordial. 

The  next  morning,  when  the  sun  had  not  yet  risen  over 
the  mountains,  the  thermometer  was  at  2°  below  zero  ; 
but  the  sky  was  bright  and  pure,  and  the  weather  changed 
rapidly  into  a  pleasant  day  of  summer.  I  remained  encamped 
in  order  to  examine  the  country,  and  allow  the  animals  a  day 
of  rest,  the  grass  being  good  and  abundant  under  the  snow. 

The  river  is  fifty  or  eighty  feet  wide,  with  a  lively  current, 
and  very  clear  water.  It  forked  a  little  above  our  camp,  one 
of  its  branches  coming  directly  from  the  south.  At  its  head 
appeared  to  be  a  handsome  pass ;  and  from  the  neighboring 
heights  we  could  see,  beyond,  a  comparatively  low  and  open 
country,  which  was  supposed  to  form  the  valley  of  the  Buena- 
ventura. The  other  branch  issued  from  a  nearer  pass,  in  a 
direction  S.  75°  W.,  forking  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and 
receiving  a  part  of  its  waters  from  a  little  lake.  I  was  in 
advance  of  the  camp  when  our  last  guides  had  left  us ;  but, 


316  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

so  far  as  could  be  understood,  this  was  the  pass  which  they 
had  indicated,  and,  in  company  with  Carson,  to-day  I  set  out 
to  explore  it.  Entering  the  range,  we  continued  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  up  the  valley,  which  here  bent  to  the  right. 
It  was  a  pretty  open  bottom,  locked  between  lofty  mountains, 
which  supplied  frequent  streams  as  we  advanced.  On  the 
lower  part  they  were  covered  with  nut-pine  trees,  and  above 
with  masses  of  pine,  which  we  easily  recognised,  from  the 
darker  color  of  the  foliage.  From  the  fresh  trails  which 
occurred  frequently  during  the  morning,  deer  appeared  to  be 
remarkably  numerous  in  the  mountain. 

We  had  now  entirely  left  the  desert  country,  and  were  on 
the  verge  of  a  region  which,  extending  westward  to  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific,  abounds  in  large  game,  and  is  covered  with  a 
singular  luxuriance  of  vegetable  life. 

The  little  stream  grew  rapidly  smaller,  and  in  about  twelve 
miles  we  had  reached  its  head,  the  last  water  coming  imme- 
diately out  of  the  mountain  on  the  right ;  and  this  spot  was  se- 
lected for  our  next  encampment.  The  grass  showed  well  in 
sunny  places  ;  but  in  colder  situations  the  snow  was  deep,  and 
began  to  occur  in  banks,  through  which  the  horses  found  some 
difficulty  in  breaking  a  way. 

To  the  left,  the  open  valley  continued  in  a  southwesterly  di- 
rection, with  a  scarcely  perceptible  ascent,  forming  a  beautiful 
pass,  the  exploration  of  which  we  deferred  until  the  next  day, 
and  returned  to  the  camp. 

To-day  an  Indian  passed  through  the  valley,  on  his  way 
into  the  mountains,  where  he  showed  us  was  his  lodge.  We 
comprehended  nothing  of  his  language  ;  and,  though  he  ap- 
peared to  have  no  fear,  passing  along  in  full  view  of  the  camp, 
he  was  indisposed  to  hold  any  communication  with  us,  but 
showed  the  way  he  was  going,  and  pointed  for  us  to  go  on  our 
road. 

By  observation,  the  latitude  of  this  encampment  was  38° 
18'  01",  and  the  elevation  above  the  sea  6,310  feet. 

27th. — Leaving  the  camp  to  follow  slowly,  with  directions 
to  Carson  to  encamp  at  the  place  agreed  on,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick 
and  myself  continued  the  reconnoissance.  Arriving  at  the  head 


1844.]  CAPT.'  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  317 

af  the  stream,  we  began  to  enter  the  pass — passing  occasional- 
ly through  open  groves  of  large  pine-trees,  on  the  warm  side 
of  the  defile,  where  the  snow  had  melted  away,  occasionally 
exposing  a  large  Indian  trail.  Continuing  along  a  narrow 
meadow,  we  reached,  in  a  few  miles,  the  gate  of  the  pass,  where 
there  was  a  narrow  strip  of  prairie,  about  50  yards  wide,  be- 
tween walls  of  granite  rock.  On  either  side  rose  the  moun- 
tains, forming  on  the  left  a  rugged  mass,  or  nucleus,  wholly 
covered  with  deep  snow,  presenting  a  glittering  and  icy  sur- 
face. At  the  time,  we  supposed  this  to  be  the  point  into  which 
they  were  gathered  between  the  two  great  rivers,  and  from 
which  the  waters  flowed  off  to  the  bay.  This  was  the  icy  and 
cold  side  of  the  pass,  and  the  rays  of  the  sun  hardly  touched 
the  snow.  On  the  left,  the  mountains  rose  into  peaks,  but  they 
were  lower  and  secondary,  and  the  country  had  a  somewhat 
more  open  and  lighter  character.  On  the  right  were  several 
hot  springs,  which  appeared  remarkable  in  such  a  place.  In 
going  through,  we  felt  impressed  by  the  majesty  of  the  moun- 
tain, along  the  huge  wall  of  which  we  were  riding.  Here 
there  was  no  snow  ;  but  immediately  beyond  was  a  deep  bank, 
through  which  we  dragged  our  horses  with  considerable  effort. 
We  then  immediately  struck  upon  a  stream,  which  gathered 
itself  rapidly,  and  descended  quick ;  and  the  valley  did  not 
preserve  the  open  character  of  the  other  side,  appearing  below 
to  form  a  canon.  We  therefore  climbed  one  of  the  peaks  on 
the  right,  leaving  our  horses  below ;  but  we  were  so  much 
shut  up  that  we  did  not  obtain  an  extensive  view,  and  what  we 
saw  was  not  very  satisfactory,  and  awakened  considerable 
doubt.  The  valley  of  the  stream  pursued  a  northwesterly  di- 
rection, appearing  below  to  turn  sharply  to  the  right,  beyond 
which  further  view  was  cut  off.  It  was,  nevertheless,  resolved 
to  continue  our  road  the  next  day  down  this  valley,  which  we 
trusted  still  would  prove  that  of  the  middle  stream  between  the 
two  great  rivers.  Towards  the  summit  of  this  peak,  the  fields 
of  snow  were  four  or  five  feet  deep  on  the  northern  side  ;  and 
we  saw  several  large  hares,  which  had  on  their  winter  color, 
being  white  as  the  snow  around  them. 

The  winter  day  is  short  in  the  mountains,  the  sun  having 


318  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

but  a  small  space  of  sky  to  travel  over  in  the  visible  part 
above  our  horizon  j  and  the  moment  his  rays  are  gone,  the 
air  is  keenly  cold.  The  interest  of  our  work  had  detained 
us  long,  and  it  was  after  nightfall  when  we  reached  the  camp. 

28th. — To-day  we  went  through  the  pass  with  all  the  camp, 
and,  after  a  hard  day's  journey  of  twelve  miles,  encamped  on 
a  high  point  where  the  snow  had  been  blown  off,  and  the  ex- 
posed grass  afforded  a  scanty  pasture  for  the  animals.  Snow 
and  broken  country  together  made  our  traveling  difficult ;  we 
were  often  compelled  to  make  large  circuits,  and  ascend  the 
highest  and  most  exposed  ridges,  in  order  to  avoid  snow,  which 
in  other  places  was  banked  up  to  a  great  depth. 

During  the  day  a  few  Indians  were  seen  circling  around  us 
on  snow-shoes,  and  skimming  along  like  birds  ;  but  we  could 
not  bring  them  within  speaking  distance.  Godey,  who  was  a 
little  distance  from  the  camp,  had  sat  down  to  tie  his  moccasins, 
when  he  heard  a  low  whistle  near,  and,  looking  up,  saw  two 
Indians  half  hiding  behind  a  rock  about  forty  yards  distant ; 
they  would  not  allow  him  to  approach,  but  breaking  into  a 
laugh,  skimmed  off  over  the  snow,  seeming  to  have  no  idea  of 
the  power  of  firearms,  and  thinking  themselves  perfectly  safe 
when  beyond  arm's  length. 

To-night  we  did  not  succeed  in  getting  the  howitzer  into 
camp.  This  was  the  most  laborious  day  we  had  yet  passed 
through,  the  steep  ascents  and  deep  snow  exhausting  both  men 
and  animals.  Our  single  chronometer  had  stopped  during  the 
day,  and  its  error  in  time  occasioned  the  loss  of  an  eclipse  of  a 
satellite  this  evening.  It  had  not  preserved  the  rate  with 
which  we  started  from  the  Dalles,  and  this  will  account  for  the 
absence  of  longitudes  along  this  interval  of  our  journey. 

29th. — From  this  height  we  could  see,  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance below,  yellow  spots  in  the  valley,  which  indicated  that 
there  was  not  much  snow.  One  of  these  places  we  expected 
to  reach  to-night ;  and  some  time  being  required  to  bring  up  the 
gun,  I  went  ahead  with  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and  a  few  men,  leav- 
ing the  camp  to  follow,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Preuss.  We  followed 
a  trail  down  a  hollow  where  the  Indians  had  descended,  the 
snow  being  so  deep  that  we  never  came  near  the  ground  ;  but 


1944.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  819 

this  only  made  our  descent  the  easier,  and,  when  we  reached 
a  little  affluent  to  the  river,  at  the  bottom,  we  suddenly  found 
ourselves  in  presence  of  eight  or  ten  Indians.  They  seemed 
to  be  watching  our  motions,  and,  like  the  others,  at  first  were 
indisposed  to  let  us  approach,  ranging  themselves  like  birds  on 
a  fallen  log,  on  the  hill-side  above  our  heads,  where,  being  out 
of  our  reach,  they  thought  themselves  safe.  Our  friendly  de- 
meanor reconciled  them,  and,  when  we  got  near  enough,  they 
immediately  stretched  out  to  us  handfuls  of  pine-nuts,  which 
seemed  an  exercise  of  hospitality.  We  made  them  a  few 
presents,  and,  telling  us  that  their  village  was  a  few  miles  be- 
low, they  went  on  to  let  their  people  know  what  we  were.  The 
principal  stream  still  running  through  an  impracticable  canon, 
we  ascended  a  very  steep  hill,  which  proved  afterwards  the 
last  and  fatal  obstacle  to  our  little  howitzer,  which  was  finally 
abandoned  at  this  place.  We  passed  through  a  small  meadow 
a  few  miles  below,  crossing  the  river,  which  depth,  swift  cur- 
rent, and  rock,  made  it  difficult  to  ford  ;  and,  after  a  few  more 
miles  of  very  difficult  trail,  issued  into  a  larger  prairie  bottom, 
at  the  farther  end  of  which  we  encamped,  in  a  position  ren- 
dered strong  by  rocks  and  trees.  The  lower  parts  of  the  moun- 
tain were  covered  with  the  nut-pine.  Several  Indians  appeared 
on  the  hill-side,  reconnoitring  the  camp,  and  were  induced  to 
come  in ;  others  came  in  during  the  afternoon  ;  and  in  the 
evening  we  held  a  council.  The  Indians  immediately  made  it 
clear  that  the  waters  on  which  we  were  also  belonged  to  the 
Great  Basin,  in  the  edge  of  which  we  had  been  since  the  17th 
of  December ;  and  it  became  evident  that  we  had  still  the  great 
ridge  on  the  left  to  cross  before  we  could  reach  the  Pacific 
waters. 

We  explained  to  the  Indians  that  we  were  endeavoring  to 
find  a  passage  across  the  mountains  into  the  country  of  the 
whites,  whom  we  were  going  to  see ;  and  told  them  that  we 
wished  them  .to  bring  us  a  guide,  to  whom  we  would  give 
presents  of  scarlet  cloth,  and  other  articles,  which  were  shown 
to  them.  They  looked  at  the  reward  we  offered,  and  conferred 
with  each  other,  but  pointed  to  the  snow  on  the  mountain,  and 
drew  their  hands  across  their  necks,  and  raised  them  above 


320  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

their  heads,  to  show  the  depth  ;  and  signified  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  us  to  get  through.  They  made  signs  that  we  must  go 
to  the  southward,  over  a  pass  through  a  lower  range,  which 
they  pointed  out :  there,  they  said,  at  the  end  of  one  day's 
travel,  we  would  find  people  who  lived  near  a  pass  in  the  great 
mountain  ;  and  to  that  point  they  engaged  to  furnish  us  a  guide. 
They  appeared  to  have  a  confused  idea,  from  report,  of  whites 
who  lived  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain ;  and  once,  they 
told  us,  about  two  years  ago,  a  party  of  twelve  men  like  our- 
selves had  ascended  their  river,  and  crossed  to  the  other  waters. 
They  pointed  out  to  us  where  they  had  crossed  ;  but  then,  they 
said,  it  was  summer  time  ;  but  now  it  would  be  impossible.  I 
believe  that  this  was  a  party  led  by  Mr.  Chiles,  one  of  the  only 
two  men  whom  I  know  to  have  passed  through  the  California 
mountains  from  the  interior  of  the  Basin — Walker  being  the 
other ;  and  both  were  engaged  upwards  of  twenty  days,  in  the 
summer  time,  in  getting  over.  Chiles's  destination  was  the 
bay  of  San  Francisco,  to  which  he  descended  by  the  Stanislaus 
river ;  and  Walker  subsequently  informed  me  that,  like  my- 
self,  descending  to  the  southward  on  a  more  eastern  line,  day 
after  day  he  was  searching  for  the  Buenaventura,  thinking  that 
he  had  found  it  with  every  new  stream,  until,  like  me,  he  aban- 
doned all  idea  of  its  existence,  and,  turning  abruptly  to  the 
right,  crossed  the  great  chain.  These  were  both  western  men, 
animated  with  the  spirit  of  exploratory  enterprise  which  char- 
acterizes that  people. 

The  Indians  brought  in  during  the  evening  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  pine-nuts,  which  we  traded  from  them.  When  roasted, 
their  pleasant  flavor  made  them  an  agreeable  addition  to  our 
now  scanty  store  of  provisions,  which  were  reduced  to  a  very 
low  ebb.  Our  principal  stock  was  in  peas,  which  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  say  contain  scarcely  any  nutriment.  We  had  still  a 
little  flour  left,  some  coffee,  and  a  quantity  of  sugar,  which  I 
reserved  as  a  defence  against  starvation. 

The  Indians  informed  us  that  at  certain  seasons  they  have 
fish  in  their  waters,  which  we  supposed  to  be  salmon-trout :  for 
the  remainder  of  the  year  they  live  upon  the  pine-nuts,  which 
form  their  great  winter  subsistence — a  portion  being  always  at 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  321 

hand,  shut  up  in  the  natural  storehouse  of  the  cones.  At 
present,  they  were  presented  to  us  as  a  whole  people  living 
upon  this  simple  vegetable. 

The  other  division  of  the  party  did  not  come  in  to-night,  but 
encamped  in  the  upper  meadow,  and  arrived  the  next  morning. 
They  had  not  succeeded  in  getting  the  howitzer  beyond  the 
place  mentioned,  and  where  it  had  been  left  by  Mr.  Preuss,  in 
obedience  to  my  orders  ;  and,  in  anticipation  of  the  snow-bank;, 
and  snow-fields  still  ahead,  foreseeing  the  inevitable  detention 
to  which  it  would  subject  us,  I  reluctantly  determined  to  leave 
it  there  for  the  time.  It  was  of  the  kind  invented  by  the  French 
for  the  mountain  part  of  their  war  in  Algiers  ;  and  the  distance 
it  had  come  with  us  proved  how  well  it  was  adapted  to  its  pur- 
pose. We  left  it,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  the  whole  party,  who 
were  grieved  to  part  with  a  companion  which  had  made  the 
whole  distance  from  St.  Louis,  and  commanded  respect  for  ui 
on  some  critical  occasions,  and  which  might  be  needed  for  the 
same  purpose  again. 

30th. — Our  guide,  who  was  a  young  man,  joined  us  this 
morning ;  and,  leaving  our  encampment  late  in  the  day,  we 
descended  the  river,  which  immediately  openeH  out  into  & 
broad  valley,  furnishing  good  traveling  ground.  In  a  short 
distance  v?e  pa»sed  tlie  village,  a  Collection  of  straw  huts ;  and 
a  few  miles  below,  the  guide  pointed  out  the  place  where  the 
whites  had  been  encamped,  before  they  entered  the  mountain. 
With  our  late  start  we  made  but  ten  miles,  and  encamped  on 
the  low  river-bottom,  where  there  was  no  snow,  but  a  great  deal 
of  ice ;  and  we  cut  piles  of  long  grass  to  lay  under  our  blan- 
kets, and  fires  were  made  of  large  dry  willows,  groves  of 
which  wooded  the  stream.  The  river  took  here  a  northeasterly 
direction,  and  through  a  spur  from  the  mountains  on  the  left 
was  the  gap  where  we  were  to  pass  the  next  day. 

31st. — We  took  our  way  over  a  gently  rising  ground,  the 
dividing  ridge  being  tolerably  low ;  and  traveling  easily  along 
a  broad  trail,  in  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  reached  the  upper 
part  of  the  pass,  when  it  began  to  snow  thickly,  with  very  cold 
weather.  The  Indians  had  only  the  usual  scanty  covering, 
and  appeared  to  suffer  greatly  from  the  cold.  All  left  us,  ex- 
14- 


322  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

cept  our  guide.  Half  hidden  by  the  storm,  the  mountains 
looked  dreary ;  and,  as  night  began  to  approach,  the  guide 
showed  great  reluctance  to  go  forward.  I  placed  him  between 
two  rifles,  for  the  way  began  to  be  difficult.  Traveling  a  little 
farther,  we  struck  a  ravine,  which  the  Indian  said  would  con- 
duct us  to  the  river ;  and  as  the  poor  fellow  suffered  greatly, 
shivering  in  the  snow  which  fell  upon  his  naked  skin,  I  would 
not  detain  him  any  longer ;  and  he  ran  off  to  the  mountain, 
where  he  said  was  a  hut  near  by.  He  had  kept  the  blue  and 
scarlet  cloth  I  had  given  him  tightly  rolled  up,  preferring  rather 
to  endure  the  cold  than  to  get  them  wet.  In  the  course  of  the 
afternoon,  one  of  the  men  had  his  foot  frostbitten ;  and  about 
dark  we  had  the  satisfaction  to  reach  the  bottoms  of  a  stream 
timbered  with  large  trees,  among  which  we  found  a  sheltered 
camp,  with  an  abundance  of  such  grass  as  the  season  afforded 
for  the  animals.  We  saw  before  us,  in  descending  from  the 
pass,  a  great  continuous  range,  along  which  stretched  the 
valley  of  the  river ;  the  lower  parts  steep,  and  dark  with  pines, 
while  above  it  was  hidden  in  clouds  of  snow.  This  we  felt 
instantly  satisfied  was  the  central  ridge  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
the  great  California  mountain,  which  only  now  intervened  be- 
tween us  and  the  waters  of  the  bay.  We  had  made  a  forced 
march  of  26  miles,  and  three  mules  had  given  out  on  the 
road.  Up  to  this  point,  with  the  exception  of  two  stolen  by 
Indians,  we  had  lost  none  of  the  horses  which  had  been  brought 
from  the  Columbia  river,  and  a  number  of  these  were  still 
strong  and  in  tolerably  good  order.  We  had  now  67  animals 
in  the  band. 

We  had  scarcely  lighted  our  fires,  when  the  camp  was 
crowded  with  nearly  naked  Indians ;  some  of  them  were  fur- 
nished with  long  nets  in  addition  to  bows,  and  appeared  to 
have  been  out  on  the  sage  hills  to  hunt  rabbits.  These  nets 
were  perhaps  30  to  40  feet  long,  kept  upright  in  the  ground 
by  slight  sticks  at  intervals,  and  were  made  from  a  kind  of 
wild  hemp,  very  much  resembling  in  manufacture  those  com- 
mon among  the  Indians  of  the  Sacramento  valley.  They 
came  among  us  without  any  fear,  and  scattered  themselves 
about  the  fires,  mainly  occupied  in  gratifying  their  astonish- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  323 

ment.  I  was  struck  by  the  singular  appearance  of  a  row  of 
about  a  dozen,  who  were  sitting  on  their  haunches  perched  on 
a  log  near  one  of  the  fires,  with  their  quick  sharp  eyes  follow, 
ing  every  motion. 

We  gathered  together  a  few  of  the  most  intelligent  of  the 
Indians,  and  held  this  evening  an  interesting  council.  I  ex- 
plained to  them  my  intentions.  I  told  them  that  we  had  come 
from  a  very  far  country,  having  been  traveling  now  nearly  a 
year,  and  that  we  were  desirous  simply  to  go  across  the  moun- 
tain into  the  country  of  the  other  whites.  There  were  two 
who  appeared  particularly  intelligent— one,  a  somewhat  old 
man.  He  told  me  that,  before  the  snows  fell,  it  was  six  sleeps 
to  the  place  where  the  whites  lived,  but  that  now  it  was  im- 
possible to  cross  the  mountain  on  account  of  the  deep  snow ; 
and  showing  us,  as  the  others  had  done,  that  it  was  over  our 
heads,  he  urged  us  strongly  to  follow  the  course  of  the  river, 
which  he  said  would  conduct  us  to  a  lake  in  which  there  were 
many  large  fish.  There,  he  said,  were  many  people  ;  there 
was  no  snow  on  the  ground  ;  and  we  might  remain  there  until 
the  spring.  From  their  descriptions,  we  were  enabled  to 
judge  that  we  had  encamped  on  the  upper  water  of  the  Salmon 
Trout  river.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  our  communi- 
cation was  only  by  signs,  as  we  understood  nothing  of  their 
language ;  but  they  spoke,  notwithstanding,  rapidly  and  ve- 
hemently, explaining  what  they  considered  the  folly  of  our 
intentions,  and  urging  us  to  go  down  to  the  lake.  Tah-ve,  a 
word  signifying  snow,  we  very  soon  learned  to  know,  from  its 
frequent  repetition.  I  told  him  that  the  men  and  the  horses 
were  strong,  that  we  would  break  a  road  through  the  snow  ; 
and  spreading  before  him  our  bales  of  scarlet  cloth,  and  trin- 
kets, showed  him  what  we  would  give  for  a  guide.  It  was 
necessary  to  obtain  one,  if  possible  ;  for  I  had  determined  here 
to  attempt  the  passage  of  the  mountain.  Pulling  a  bunch  of 
grass  from  the  ground,  after  a  short  discussion  among  them- 
selves, the  old  man  made  us  comprehend,  that  if  we  could 
break  through  the  snow,  at  the  end  of  three  days  we  would 
come  down  upon  grass,  which  he  showed  us  would  be  about 
six  inches  high,  and  where  the  ground  was  entirely  free.  So 


324  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JAN. 

far,  he  said,  he  had  been  in  hunting  for  elk ;  but  beyond  that 
(and  he  closed 'his  eyes)  he  had  seen  nothing;  but  there  was 
one  among  them  who  had  been  to  the  whites,  and,  going  out  of 
the  lodge,  he  returned  with  a  young  man  of  very  intelligent 
appearance.  Here,  said  he,  is  a  young  man  who  has  seen  the 
whites  with  his  own  eyes ;  and  he  swore,  first  by  the  sky,  and 
then  by  the  ground,  that  what  he  said  was  true.  With  a  large 
present  of  goods,  we  prevailed  upon  this  young  man  to  be  our 
guide,  and  he  acquired  among  us  the  name  of  Melo — a  word 
signifying  friend,  which  they  used  very  frequently.  He  was 
thinly  clad,  and  nearly  barefoot ;  his  moccasins  being  about 
worn  out.  We  gave  him  skins  to  make  a  new  pair,  and  to  enable 
him  to  perform  his  undertaking  to  us.  The  Indians  remained 
in  the  camp  during  the  night,  and  we  kept  the  guide  and  two- 
others  to  sleep  in  the  lodge  with  us — Carson  lying  across  the 
door,  and  having  made  them  comprehend  the  use  of  our  fir» 
arms. 


FEBRUARY. 

1st. — The  snow,  which  had  intermitted  in  the  evening,  com- 
menced falling  again  in  the  course  of  the  night,  and  it  snowed 
steadily  all  day.  In  the  morning  I  acquainted  the  men  with 
my  decision,  and  explained  to  them  that  necessity  required  us 
to  make  a  great  effort  to  clear  the  mountains.  I  reminded 
them  of  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  with  which 
they  were  familiar  from  the  descriptions  of  Carson,  who  had 
been  there  some  fifteen  years  ago,  and  who,  in  our  late  priva- 
tions, had  delighted  us  in  speaking  of  its  rich  pastures  and 
abounding  game,  and  drew  a  vivid  contrast  between  its  sum- 
mer climate,  less  than  a  hundred  miles  distant,  and  the  falling 
snow  around  us.  I  informed  them  (and  long  experience  had 
given  them  confidence  in  my  observations  and  good  instru- 
ments) that  almost  directly  west,  and  only  about  70  miles  dis- 
tant, was  the  great  farming  establishment  of  Captain  Sutter— 
a  gentleman  who  had  formerly  lived  in  Missouri,  and,  emi- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  325 

grating  to  this  country,  had  become  the  possessor  of  a  princi- 
pality. I  assured  them  that,  from  the  heights  of  the  mountain 
before  us,  we  should  doubtless  see  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento 
river,  and  with  one  effort  place  ourselves  again  in  the  midst  of 
plenty.  The  people  received  this  decision  with  the  cheerful 
obedience  which  had  always  characterized  them,  and  the  day 
was  immediately  devoted  to  the  preparations  necessary  to  ena- 
ble us  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Leggins,  moccasins,  clothing — 
all  were  put  into  the  best  state  to  resist  the  cold.  Our  guide 
was  not  neglected.  Extremity  of  suffering  might  make  him 
desert ;  we  therefore  did  the  best  we  could  for  him.  Leggins, 
moccasins,  some  articles  of  clothing,  and  a  large  green  blan- 
ket, in  addition  to  the  blue  and  scarlet  cloth,  were  lavished 
upon  him,  and  to  his  great  and  evident  contentment.  He  ar- 
rayed himself  in  all  his  colors,  and,  clad  in  green,  blue,  and 
scarlet,  he  made  a  gay-looking  Indian ;  and,  with  his  various 
presents,  was  probably  richer  and  better  clothed  than  any  of 
his  tribe  had  ever  been  before. 

I  have  already  said  that  our  provisions  were  very  low  ;  we 
had  neither  tallow  nor  grease  of  any  kind  remaining,  and  the 
want  of  salt  became  one  of  our  greatest  privations.  The  poor 
dog  which  had  been  found  in  the  Bear  River  valley,  and  which 
had  been  a  compagnon  de  voyage  ever  since,  had  now  become 
fat,  and  the  mess  to  which  it  belonged,  requested  permission  to 
kill  it.  Leave  was  granted.  Spread  out  on  the  snow,  the 
meat  looked  very  good  ;  and  it  made  a  strengthening  meal 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  camp.  Indians  brought  in  two 
or  three  rabbits  during  the  day,  which  were  purchased  from 
them. 

The  river  was  40  to  70  feet  wide,  and  now  entirely  frozen 
over.  It  was  wooded  with  large  cottonwood,  willow,  and  grain 
de  THRU/.  By  observation,  the  latitude  of  this  encampment  was 
38°  37'  18". 

2d. — It  had  ceased  snowing,  and  this  morning  the  lower  ail 
was  clear  and  frosty  ;  and  six  or  seven  thousand  feet  above, 
the  peaks  of  the  Sierra  now  and  then  appeared  among  the 
rolling  clouds,  which  were  rapidly  dispersing  before  the  sun. 
Our  Indian  shook  his  head  as  he  pointed  to  the  icy  pinnacles. 


326  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [FEB. 

shooting  high  up  into  the  sky,  and  seeming  almost  immediately 
above  us.  Crossing  the  river  on  the  ice,  and  leaving  it  imme- 
diately, we  commenced  the  ascent  of  the  mountain  along  the 
valley  of  a  tributary  stream.  The  people  were  unusually  si- 
lent,  for  every  man  knew  that  our  enterprise  was  hazardous, 
and  the  issue  doubtful. 

The  snow  deepened  rapidly,  and  it  soon  became  necessary 
to  break  a  road.  For  this  service,  a  party  of  ten  was  formed, 
mounted  on  the  strongest  horses,  each  man  in  succession  open- 
ing  the  road  on  foot,  or  on  horseback,  until  himself  and  his 
horse  became  fatigued,  when  he  stepped  aside,  and,  the  re- 
maining number  passing  ahead,  he  took  his  station  in  the  rear. 
Leaving  this  stream,  and  pursuing  a  very  direct  course,  we 
passed  over  an  intervening  ridge  to  the  river  we  had  left.  On 
the  way  we  passed  two  low  huts  entirely  covered  with  snow, 
which  might  very  easily  have  escaped  observation.  A  family 
was  living  in  each ;  and  the  only  trail  I  saw  in  the  neighbor, 
hood  was  from  the  door-hole  to  a  nut-pine  tree  near,  which 
supplied  them  with  food  and  fuel.  We  found  two  similar  huts 
on  the  creek  where  we  next  arrived ;  and,  traveling  a  little 
higher  up,  encamped  on  its  banks  in  about  four  feet  depth  of 
snow.  Carson  found  near,  an  open  hill-side,  where  the  wind 
and  the  sun  had  melted  the  snow,  leaving  exposed  sufficient 
bunch-grass  for  the  animals  to-night. 

The  nut-pines  were  now  giving  way  to  heavy  timber,  and 
there  were  some  immense  pines  on  the  bottom,  around  the 
roots  of  which  the  sun  had  melted  away  the  snow  ;  and  here 
we  made  our  camp  and  built  huge  fires.  To-day  we  had 
traveled  16  miles,  and  our  elevation  above  the  sea  was  6,760 
feet. 

3d. — Turning  our  faces  directly  towards  the  main  chain,  we 
ascended  an  open  hollow  along  a  small  tributary  to  the  river, 
which,  according  to  the  Indians,  issues  from  a  mountain  to  the 
south.  The  snow  was  so  deep  in  the  hollow,  that  we  were 
obliged  to  travel  along  the  steep  hill-sides,  and  over  spurs, 
where  the  wind  and  sun  had  in  places  lessened  the  snow,  and 
where  the  grass,  which  appeared  to  be  in  good  quality  along 
the  sides  of  the  mountains,  was  exposed.  We  opened  our  road 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  327 

in  the  same  way  as  yesterday,  but  made  only  seven  miles,  and 
encamped  by  some  springs  at  the  foot  of  a  high  and  steep  hill, 
by  which  the  hollow  ascended  to  another  basin  in  the  moun- 
tain. The  little  stream  below  was  entirely  buried  in  snow. 
The  springs  were  shaded  by  the  boughs  of  a  lofty  cedar,  which 
here  made  its  first  appearance  ;  the  usual  height  was  120  to 
130  feet,  and  one  that  was  measured  near  by  was  six  feet  in 
diameter. 

There  being  no  grass  exposed  here,  the  horses  were  sent 
back  to  that  which  we  had  seen  a  few  miles  below.  We  oc- 
cupied the  remainder  of  the  day  in  beating  down  a  road  to  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  a  mile  or  two  distant ;  the  snow  being  beaten 
down  when  moist,  in  the  warm  part  of  the  day,  and  then  hard 
frozen  at  night,  made  a  foundation  that  would  bear  the  weight 
of  the  animals  next  morning.  During  the  day  several  Indians 
joined  us  on  snow-shoes.  These  were  made  of  a  circular  hoop, 
about  a  foot  in  diameter,  the  interior  space  being  filled  with  an 
open  network  of  bark. 

4th. — I  went  ahead  early  with  two  or  three  men,  each  with  a 
led  horse  to  break  the  road.  We  were  obliged  to  abandon  the 
hollow  entirely,  and  work  along  the  mountain-side,  which  was 
very  steep,  and  the  snow  covered  with  an  icy  crust.  We  cut 
a  footing  as  we  advanced,  and  trampled  a  road  through  for  the 
animals ;  but  occasionally  one  plunged  outside  the  trail,  and 
slided  along  the  field  to  the  bottom,  a  hundred  yards  below. 
Late  in  the  day  we  reached  another  bench  in  the  hollow, 
where,  in  summer,  the  stream  passed  over  a  small  precipice. 
Here  was  a  short  distance  of  dividing  ground  between  the  two 
ridges,  and  beyond  an  open  basin,  some  ten  miles  across,  whose 
bottom  presented  a  field  of  snow.  At  the  further  or  western 
side  rose  the  middle  crest  of  the  mountain,  a  dark-looking  ridge 
of  volcanic  rock. 

The  summit  line  presented  a  range  of  naked  peaks,  appa- 
rently destitute  of  snow  and  vegetation  ;  but  below,  the  face 
of  the  whole  country  was  covered  with  timber  of  extraordinary 
size. 

Towards  a  pass  which  the  guide  indicated  here,  we  attempted 
in  the  afternoon  to  force  a  road  ;  but  after  a  laborious  plunging 


828  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [FEB. 

through  two  or  three  hundred  yards,  our  best  horses  gave  out, 
entirely  refusing  to  make  any  further  effort,  and,  for  the  time, 
we  were  brought  to  a  stand.  The  guide  informed  us  that  we 
were  entering  the  deep  snow,  and  here  began  the  difficulties 
of  the  mountain ;  and  to  him,  and  almost  to  all,  our  enterprise 
seemed  hopeless.  I  returned  a  short  distance  back,  to  the 
break  in  the  hollow,  where  I  met  Mr.  Fitzpatrick. 

The  camp  had  been  occupied  all  the  day  in  endeavoring  to 
ascend  the  hill,  but  only  the  best  horses  had  succeeded ;  the 
animals,  generally,  not  having  sufficient  strength  to  bring 
themselves  up  without  the  packs ;  and  all  the  line  of  road  be- 
tween this  and  the  springs  was  strewed  with  camp-stores  and 
equipage,  and  horses  floundering  in  snow.  I  therefore  im- 
mediately encamped  on  the  ground  with  my  own  mess,  which 
was  in  advance,  and  directed  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  to  encamp  at 
the  springs,  and  send  all  the  animals,  in  charge  of  Tabeau, 
with  a  strong  guard,  back  to  the  place  where  they  had  been 
pastured  the  night  before.  Here  was  a  small  spot  of  level 
ground,  protected  on  one  side  by  the  mountain,  and  on  the  other 
sheltered  by  a  little  ridge  of  rock.  It  was  an  open  grove  of 
pines,  which  assimilated  in  size  to  the  grandeur  of  the  moun- 
tain, being  frequently  six  feet  in  diameter. 

To-night  we  had  no  shelter,  but  we  made  a  large  fire  around 
the  trunk  of  one  of  the  huge  pines ;  and  covering  the  snow 
with  small  boughs,  on  which  we  spread  our  blankets,  soon 
made  ourselves  comfortable.  The  night  was  very  bright  and 
clear,  though  the  thermometer  was  only  at  10°.  A  strong 
wind,  which  sprang  up  at  sundown,  made  it  intensely  cold ; 
and  this  was  one  of  the  bitterest  nights  during  the  journey. 

Two  Indians  joined  our  party  here ;  and  one  of  them,  an 
old  man,  immediately  began  to  harangue  us,  saying  that  our- 
selves and  animals  would  perish  in  the  snow  ;  and  that  if  we 
would  go  back,  he  would  show  us  another  and  a  better  way 
across  the  mountain.  He  spoke  in  a  very  loud  voice,  and  there 
was  a  singular  repetition  of  phrases  and  arrangement  of  words, 
which  rendered  his  speech  striking  and  not  unmusical. 

We  had  now  begun  to  understand  some  words,  and,  with  the 
aid  of  signs,  easily  comprehended  the  old  man's  simple  ideas. 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  329 

"  Rock  upon  rock — rock  upon  rock — snow  upon  snow,"  said 
he  ;  "  even  if  you  get  over  the  snow,  you  will  not  be  able  to 
get  down  from  the  mountains."  He  made  us  the  sign  of 
precipices,  and  showed  us  how  the  feet  of  the  horses  would 
slip,  and  throw  them  off  from  the  narrow  trails  that  led  along 
their  sides.  Our  Chinook,  who  comprehended  even  more 
readily  than  ourselves,  and  believed  our  situation  hopeless, 
covered  his  head  with  his  blanket,  and  began  to  weep  and  la- 
ment. " I  wanted  to  see  the  whites,"  said  he  ;  "I  came  away 
from  my  own  people  to  see  the  whites,  and  I  wouldn't  care  to 
die  among  them,  but  here" — and  he  looked  around  into  the 
cold  night  and  gloomy  forest,  and,  drawing  his  blanket  over 
his  head,  began  again  to  lament. 

Seated  around  the  tree,  the  fire  illuminating  the  rocks  and 
the  tall  bolls  of  the  pines  round  about,  and  the  old  Indian 
haranguing,  we  presented  a  group  of  very  serious  faces. 

5th. — The  night  had  been  too  cold  to  sleep,  and  we  were  up 
very  early.  Our  guide  was  standing  by  the  fire  with  all  his 
finery  on ;  and  seeing  him  shiver  in  the  cold,  I  threw  on 
his  shoulders  one  of  my  blankets.  We  missed  him  a  few 
minutes  afterwards,  and  never  saw  him  again.  He  had  desert- 
ed.  His  bad  faith  and  treachery  were  in  perfect  keeping  with 
the  estimate  of  Indian  character,  which  a  long  intercourse  with 
this  people  had  gradually  forced  upon  my  mind. 

While  a  portion  of  the  camp  were  occupied  in  bringing  up 
the  baggage  to  this  point,  the  remainder  were  busied  in  making 
sledges  and  snow-shoes.  I  had  determined  to  explore  the 
mountain  ahead,  and  the  sledges  were  to  be  used  in  transport- 
ing the  baggage. 

The  mountains  here  consisted  wholly  of  a  white  micaceous 
granite.  The  day  was  perfectly  clear,  and,  while  the  sun  was 
in  the  sky,  warm  and  pleasant. 

By  observation  our  latitude  was  38°  42'  26" ;  and  elevation 
by  the  boiling  point,  7,400  feet. 

6th. — Accompanied  by  Mr.   Fitzpatrick,  I  set  out  to-day 
with  a  reconnoitring  party  on  snow-shoes.     We  marched  all 
in  single  file,  trampling  the  snow   as  heavily  as  we  could 
Crossing  the  open  basin,  in  a  march  of  about  ten  miles  we 


330  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [FEE. 

reached  the  top  of  one  of  the  peaks,  to  the  left  of  the  pass  indicated 
by  our  guide.  Far  below  us,  dimmed  by  the  distance,  was  a 
large  snowless  valley,  bounded  on  the  western  side,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  about  a  hundred  miles,  by  a  low  range  of  mountains, 
which  Carson  recognised  with  delight  as  the  mountains  border- 
ing the  coast.  "  There,"  said  he,  "is  the  little  mountain— it  is 
fifteen  years  since  I  saw  it ;  but  I  am  just  as  sure  as  if  I  had 
seen  it  yesterday."  Between  us,  then,  and  this  low  coast  range, 
was  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento ;  and  no  one  who  had  not 
accompanied  us  through  the  incidents  of  our  life  for  the  last 
few  months  could  realize  the  delight  with  which  at  last  we 
looked  down  upon  it.  At  the  distance  of  apparently  30  miles 
beyond  us  were  distinguished  spots  of  prairie  ;  and  a  dark  line 
which  could  be  traced  with  the  glass,  was  imagined  to  be  the 
course  of  the  river ;  but  we  were  evidently  at  a  great  height 
above  the  valley,  and  between  us  and  the  plains  extended  miles 
of  snowy  fields  and  broken  ridges  of  pine-covered  mountains. 

It  was  late  in  the  day  when  we  turned  towards  the  camp ; 
and  it  grew  rapidly  cold  as  it  drew  towards  night.  One  of  the 
men  became  fatigued,  and  his  feet  began  to  freeze,  and  build- 
ing a  fire  in  the  trunk  of  a  dry  old  cedar,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  re- 
mained with  him  until  his  clothes  could  be  dried,  and  he  was 
in  a  condition  to  come  on.  After  a  day's  march  of  20  miles, 
we  straggled  into  the  camp  one  after  another,  at  nightfall ;  the 
greater  number  excessively  fatigued,  only  two  of  the  party 
having  ever  traveled  on  snow-shoes  before. 

All  our  energies  are  now  directed  to  getting  our  animals 
across  the  snow ;  and  it  was  supposed  that  after  all  the  bag- 
gage had  been  drawn  with  the  sleighs  over  the  trail  we  had 
made,  it  would  be  sufficiently  hard  to  bear  our  animals.  At 
several  places  between  this  point  and  the  ridge,  we  had  discov- 
ered some  grassy  spots,  where  the  wind  and  sun  had  dis- 
persed the  snow  from  the  sides  of  the  hills,  and  these  were  to 
form  resting-places  to  support  the  animals  for  a  night  in  their 
passage  across.  On  our  way  across  we  had  set  on  fire  several 
broken  stumps,  and  dried  trees,  to  melt  holes  in  the  snow  for 
the  camps.  Its  general  depth  was  five  feet ;  but  we  passed  over 
places  where  it  was  20  feet  deep,  as  shown  by  the  trees. 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  331 

With  one  party  drawing  sleighs  loaded  with  baggage,  I  ad- 
vanced to-day  about  four  miles  along  the  trail,  and  encamped 
at  the  first  grassy  spot,  where  we  expected  to  bring  our  horses. 
Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  with  another  party,  remained  behind,  to  form 
an  intermediate  station  between  us  and  the  animals. 

8th. — The  night  has  been  extremely  cold;  but  perfectly 
still,  and  beautifully  clear.  Before  the  sun  appeared  this 
morning,  the  thermometer  was  3°  below  zero  ;  1°  higher,  when 
his  rays  struck  the  lofty  peaks ;  and  0°  when  they  reached 
our  camp. 

Scenery  and  weather,  combined,  must  render  these  moun- 
tains beautiful  in  summer ;  the  purity  and  deep-blue  color  of 
the  sky  are  singularly  beautiful ;  the  days  are  sunny  and 
bright,  and  even  warm  in  the  noon  hours ;  and  if  we  could  be 
free  from  the  many  anxieties  that  oppress  us,  even  now  we 
would  be  delighted  here ;  but  our  provisions  are  getting  fear- 
fully scant.  Sleighs  arrived  with  baggage  about  ten  o'clock  ; 
and  leaving  a  portion  of  it  here,  we  continued  on  for  a  mile 
and  a  half,  and  encamped  at  the  foot  of  a  long  hill  on  this  side 
of  the  open  bottom. 

Bernier  and  Godey,  who  yesterday  morning  had  been  sent 
to  ascend  a  higher  peak,  got  in,  hungry  and  fatigued.  They 
confirmed  what  we  had  already  seen.  Two  other  sleighs  ar- 
rived in  the  afternoon ;  and  the  men  being  fatigued,  I  gave 
them  all  tea  and  sugar.  Snow  clouds  began  to  rise  in  the 
S.S.W. ;  and,  apprehensive  of  a  storm,  which  would  destroy 
our  road,  I  sent  the  people  back  to  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  with  di- 
rections to  send  for  the  animals  in  the  morning.  With  me  re- 
mained Mr.  Preuss,  Mr.  Talbot,  and  Carson,  with  Jacob. 

Elevation  of  the  camp,  by  the  boiling  point,  is  7,920  feet. 

9th. — During  the  night  the  weather  changed,  the  wind  ris- 
ing to  a  gale,  and  commencing  to  snow  before  daylight ;  be- 
fore morning  the  trail  was  covered.  We  remained  quiet  in 
camp  all  day,  in  the  course  of  which  the  weather  improved. 
Four  sleighs  arrived  towards  evening,  with  the  bedding  of  the 
men.  We  suffer  much  from  the  want  of  salt ;  and  all  the 
men  are  becoming  weak  from  insufficient  food. 

10th. — Taplin  was  sent  back  with  a  few  men  to  assist  Mr. 


332  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [FEB. 

Fitzpatrick ;  and  continuing  on  with  three  sleighs  carrying  a 
part  of  the  baggage,  we  had  the  satisfaction  to  encamp  within 
two  and  a  half  miles  of  the  head  of  the  hollow,  and  at  the  foot 
of  the  last  mountain  ridge.  Here  two  large  trees  had  been  set 
on  fire,  and  in  the  holes,  where  the  snow  had  been  melted 
away,  we  found  a  comfortable  camp. 

The  wind  kept  the  air  filled  with  snow  during  the  day  ;  the 
sky  was  very  dark  in  the  southwest,  though  elsewhere  very 
clear.  The  forest  here  has  a  noble  appearance ;  and  tall  cedar 
is  abundant;  its  greatest  height  being  130  feet,  and  circum- 
ference 20,  three  or  four  feet  above  the  ground ;  and  here  I 
see  for  the  first  time  the  white  pine,  of  which  there  are  some 
magnificent  trees.  Hemlock  spruce  is  among  the  timber,  oc- 
casionally as  large  as  eight  feet  in  diameter,  four  feet  above 
the  ground ;  but,  in  ascending,  it  tapers  rapidly  to  less  than 
one  foot  at  the  height  of  eighty  feet.  I  have  not  seen  any 
higher  than  130  feet,  and  the  slight  upper  part  is  frequently 
broken  off  by  the  wind.  The  white  spruce  is  frequent ;  and 
the  red  pine  (pinus  Colorado  of  the  Mexicans)  which  constitutes 
the  beautiful  forest  along  the  banks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  to 
the  northward,  is  here  the  principal  tree,  not  attaining  a 
greater  height  than  140  feet,  though  with  sometimes  a  diame- 
ter of  10.  Most  of  these  trees  appeared  to  differ  slightly  from 
those  of  the  same  kind  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent. 

The  elevation  of  the  camp  by  the  boiling  point,  is  8,050  feet. 
We  are  now  1,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  South  Pass  in 
the  Rocky  mountains ;  and  still  we  are  not  done  ascending. 
The  top  of  a  flat  ridge  near  was  bare  of  snow,  and  very  well 
sprinkled  with  bunch-grass,  sufficient  to  pasture  the  animals 
two  or  three  days ;  and  this  was  to  be  their  main  point  of  sup- 
port. This  ridge  is  composed  of  a  compact  trap,  or  basalt  of 
a  columnar  structure ;  over  the  surface  are  scattered  large 
boulders  of  porous  trap.  The  hills  are  in  many  places  en- 
tirely covered  with  small  fragments  of  volcanic  rock. 

Putting  on  our  snow-shoes,  we  spent  the  afternoon  in  ex- 
ploring a  road  ahead.  The  glare  of  the  snow,  combined  with 
great  fatigue,  had  rendered  many  of  the  people  nearly 
blind ;  but  we  were  fortunate  in  having  some  black  silk  hand- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  333 

kerchiefs,  which,  worn  as  veils,  very  much  relieved  the 
eye. 

Hth. — High  wind  continued,  and  our  trail  this  morning  was 
nearly  invisible — here  and  there  indicated  by  a  little  ridge  of 
snow.  Our  situation  became  tiresome  and  dreary,  requiring 
a  strong  exercise  of  patience  and  resolution. 

In  the  evening  I  received  a  message  from  Mr.  Fitzpatrick, 
acquainting  me  with  the  utter  failure  of  his  attempt  to  get  our 
mules  and  horses  over  the  snow — the  half-hidden  trail  had 
proved  entirely  too  slight  to  support  them,  and  they  had  broken 
through,  and  were  plunging  about  or  lying  half  buried  in 
snow.  He  was  occupied  in  endeavoring  to  get  them  back  to 
his  camp ;  and  in  the  mean  time  sent  to  me  for  further  instruc- 
tions. I  wrote  to  him  to  send  the  animals  immediately  back 
to  their  old  pastures;  and,  after  having  made  mauls  and  shovels, 
turn  in  all  the  strength  of  his  party  to  open  and  beat  a  road 
through  the  snow,  strengthening  it  with  branches  and  boughs 
of  the  pines. 

12th. — We  made  mauls,  and  worked  hard  at  our  end  of  the 
road  all  day.  The  wind  was  high,  but  the  sun  bright,  and  the 
snow  thawing.  We  worked  down  the  face  of  the  hill,  to  meet 
the  people  at  the  other  end.  Towards  sundown  it  began  to 
grow  cold,  and  we  shouldered  our  mauls  and  trudged  back  to 
camp. 

13th. — We  continued  to  labor  on  the  road  ;  and  in  the  course 
«f  the  day  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  the  people  working  down 
the  face  of  the  opposite  hill,  about  three  miles  distant.  During 
the  morning  we  had  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  from  Mr.  Fitzpat- 
rick, with  the  information  that  all  was  going  on  well.  A  party 
of  Indians  had  passed  on  snow-shoes,  who  said  they  were  going 
to  the  western  side  of  the  mountain  after  fish.  This  was  an 
indication  that  the  salmon  were  coming  up  the  streams ;  and 
we  could  hardly  restrain  our  impatience  as  we  thought  of  them, 
and  worked  with  increased  vigor. 

The  meat  train  did  not  arrive  this  evening,  and  I  gave 
Godey  leave  to  kill  our  little  dog,  (Tlamath,)  which  he  prepared 
in  Indian  fashion ;  scorching  off  the  hair,  and  washing  the 
skin  with  soap  and  snow,  and  then  cutting  it  up  into  pieces, 


334  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE. 

which  were  laid  on  the  snow.  Shortly  afterwards,  the  sleigl 
arrived  with  a  supply  of  horse-meat ;  and  we  had  to-night  an 
extraordinary  dinner — pea-soup,  mule,  and  dog. 

14th. — The  dividing  ridge  of  the  Sierra  is  in  sight  from  this 
encampment.  Accompanied  by  Mr.  Preuss,  I  ascended  to-day 
the  highest  peak  to  the  right ;  from  which  we  had  a  beautiful 
view  of  a  mountain  lake  at  our  feet,  about  fifteen  miles  in 
length,  and  so  entirely  surrounded  by  mountains  that  we  could 
not  discover  an  outlet.  We  had  taken  with  us  a  glass ;  but 
though  we  enjoyed  an  extended  view,  the  valley  was  half  hid- 
den in  mist,  as  when  we  had  seen  it  before.  Snow  could  be 
distinguished  on  the  higher  parts  of  the  coast  mountains ;  east- 
ward, as  far  as  the  eye  could  extend,  it  ranged  over  a  terrible 
mass  of  broken  snowy  mountains,  fading  off  blue  in  the  dis- 
tance. The  rock  composing  the  summit  consists  of  a  very 
coarse,  dark,  volcanic  conglomerate ;  the  lower  parts  appeared 
to  be  of  a  slaty  structure.  The  highest  trees  were  a  few  scat- 
tering cedars  and  aspens.  From  the  immediate  foot  of  the 
peak,  we  were  two  hours  reaching  the  summit,  and  one  hour 
and  a  quarter  in  descending.  The  day  had  been  very  bright, 
still,  and  clear,  and  spring  seems  to  be  advancing  rapidly?* 
While  the  sun  is  in  the  sky,  the  snow  melts  rapidly,  and  gush- 
ing springs  cover  the  face  of  the  mountain  in  all  the  exposed 
places ;  but  their  surface  freezes  instantly  with  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  sun. 

I  obtained  to-night  some  observations ;  and  the  result  from 
these,  and  others  made  during  our  stay,  gives  for  the  latitude 
38°.  41'  57",  longitude  120°  25'  57",  and  rate  of  the  chro- 
nometer 25.82". 

16th. — We  had  succeeded  in  getting  our  animals  safely  to 
the  first  grassy  hill ;  and  this  morning  I  started  with  Jacob  on 
a  reconnoitring  expedition  beyond  the  mountain.  We  traveled 
along  the  crests  of  narrow  ridges,  extending  down  from  the 
mountain  in  the  direction  of  the  valley,  from  which  the  snow 
was  fast  melting  away.  On  the  open  spots  was  tolerably  good 
grass ;  and  I  judged  we  should  succeed  in  getting  the  camp 
down  by  way  of  these.  Towards  sundown  we  discovered  some 
icy  spots  in  a  deep  hollow ;  and,  descending  the  mountain,  we 


CAPT. 

encamped  on  the  head- water  of  a  little  creek,  where  at  last  the 
water  found  its  way  to  the  Pacific. 

The  night  was  clear  and  very  long.  We  heard  the  cries  of 
some  wild  animals,  which  had  been  attracted  by  our  fire,  and 
a  flock  of  geese  passed  over  during  the  night.  Even  these 
strange  sounds  had  something  pleasant  to  our  senses  in  this 
region  of  silence  and  desolation. 

We  started  again  early  in  the  morning.  The  creek  acquired 
a  regular  breadth  of  about  20  feet,  and  we  soon  began  to  hear 
the  rushing  of  the  water  below  the  icy  surface,  over  which  we 
traveled  to  avoid  the  snow  ;  a  few  miles  below  we  broke 
through,  where  the  water  was  several  feet  deep,  and  halted  to 
make  a  fire  and  dry  our  clothes.  We  continued  a  few  miles 
farther,  walking  being  very  laborious  without  snow-shoes. 

I  was  now  perfectly  satisfied  that  we  had  struck  the  stream 
on  which  Mr.  Sutler  lived  ;  and,  turning  about,  made  a  hard 
push,  and  reached  the  camp  at  dark.  Here  we  had  the  pleas- 
ure to  find  all  the  remaining  animals,  57  in  number,  safely 
arrived  at  the  grassy  hill  near  the  camp ;  and  here,  also,  we 
were  agreeably  surprised  with  the  sight  of  an  abundance  of  salt. 
Some  of  the  horse-guard  had  gone  to  a  neighboring  hut  for  pine 
nuts,  and  discovered  unexpectedly  a  large  cake  of  very  white 
fine-grained  salt,  which  the  Indians  told  them  they  had  brought 
from  the  other  side  of  the  mountain ;  they  used  it  to  eat  with 
their  pine  nuts,  and  readily  sold  it  for  goods. 

On  the  19th,  the  people  were  occupied  in  making  a  road  and 
bringing  up  the  baggage  ;  and,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  next 
day,  February  20,  1844,  we  encamped,  with  the  animals  and 
all  the  materiel  of  the  camp,  on  the  summit  of  the  PASS  in  the 
dividing  ridge,  1,000  miles  by  our  traveled  road  from  the 
Dalles  to  the  Columbia. 

The  people,  who  had  not  yet  been  to  this  point,  climbed  the 
neighboring  peak  to  enjoy  a  look  at  the  valley. 

The  temperature  of  boiling  water  gave  for  the  elevation  of 
the  encampment,  9,338  feet  above  the  sea. 

This  was  2,000  feet  higher  than  the  South  Pass  in  the  Rocky 
mountains,  and  several  peaks  in  view  rose  several  thousand 
feet  still  higher.  Thus,  at  the  extremity  of  the  continent,  and 


336  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [FEB. 

near  the  coast,  the  phenomenon  was  seen  of  a  range  of  moun- 
tains stiL  higher  than  the  great  Rocky  mountains  themselves. 
This  extraordinary  fact  accounts  for  the  Great  Basin,  and 
shows  that  there  must  be  a  system  of  small  lakes  and  rivers 
here  scattered  over  a  flat  country,  and  which  the  extended 
and  lofty  range  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  prevents  from  escaping 
to  the  Pacific  ocean.  Latitude  38°  44';  longitude  120°  28'. 

Thus  the  Pass  in  the  Sierra  Nevada,  which  so  well  deserves 
its  name  of  Snowy  mountain,  is  eleven  degrees  west  and  about 
four  degrees  south  of  the  South  Pass. 

21st. — We  now  considered  ourselves  victorious  over  the 
mountain ;  having  only  the  descent  before  us,  and  the  valley 
under  our  eyes,  we  felt  strong  hope  that  we  should  force  our 
way  down.  But  this  was  a  case  in  which  the  descent  was  not 
facile.  Still  deep  fields  of  snow  lay  between  them,  and  there 
was  a  large  intervening  space  of  rough-looking  mountains, 
through  which  we  had  yet  to  wind  our  way.  Carson  roused 
me  this  morning  with  an  early  fire,  and  we  were  all  up  long 
before  day,  in  order  to  pass  the  snow-fields  before  the  sun 
should  render  the  crust  soft.  We  enjoyed  this  morning  a 
scene  at  sunrise,  which  even  here  was  unusually  glorious  and 
beautiful.  Immediately  above  the  eastern  mountains  was  re- 
peated a  cloud- formed  mass  of  purple  ranges,  bordered  with 
bright  yellow  gold  ;  *the  peaks  shot  up  into  a  narrow  line  of 
crimson  cloud,  above  which  the  air  was  filled  with  a  greenish 
orange ;  and  over  all  was  the  singular  beauty  of  the  blue  sky. 
Passing  along  a  ridge  which  commanded  the  lake  on  our  right, 
of  which  we  began  to  discover  an  outlet  through  a  chasm  on 
the  west,  we  passed  over  alternating  open  ground  and  hard- 
crusted  snow-fields  which  supported  the  animals,  and  encamp- 
ed on  the  ridge,  after  a  journey  of  six  miles.  The  grass  was 
better  than  we  had  yet  seen,  and  we  were  encamped  in  a 
clump  of  trees  20  or  30  feet  high,  resembling  white  pine.  With 
the  exception  of  these  small  clumps,  the  ridges  were  bare ; 
and,  where  the  snow  found  the  support  of  the  trees,  the  wind 
had  blown  it  up  into  banks  10  or  15  feet  high.  It  required 
much  care  to  hunt  out  a  practicable  way,  as  the  most  opefi 
places  frequently  led  to  impassable  banks. 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  337 

We  had  hard  and  doubtful  labor  yet  before  us,  as  the  snow 
appeared  to  be  heavier  where  the  timber  began  further  down, 
with  few  open  spots.  Ascending  a  height,  we  traced  out  the 
best  line  we  could  discover  for  the  next  day's  march,  and  had 
at  least  the  consolation  to  see  that  the  mountain  descended  rap- 
idly. The  day  had  been  one  of  April — gusty,  with  a  few  oc- 
casional flakes  of  snow — which,  in  the  afternoon,  enveloped 
the  upper  mountain  in  clouds.  We  watched  them  anxiously, 
as  now  we  dreaded  a  snow-storm.  Shortly  afterwards  we 
heard  the  roll  of  thunder,  and,  looking  towards  the  valley, 
found  it  enveloped  in  a  thunder-storm.  For  us,  as  connected 
with  the  idea  of  summer,  it  had  a  singular  charm,  and  we 
watched  its  progress  with  excited  feelings  until  nearly  sunset, 
when  the  sky  cleared  off  brightly,  and  we  saw  a  shining  line 
of  water  directing  its  course  towards  another,  a  broader  and 
larger  sheet.  We  knew  that  these  could  be  no  other  than  the 
Sacramento  and  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  ;  but,  after  our  long 
wandering  in  rugged  mountains,  where  so  frequently  we  had 
met  with  disappointments,  and  where  the  crossing  of  every 
ridge  displayed  some  unknown  lake  or  river,  we  were  yet  al- 
most afraid  to  believe  that  we  were  at  last  to  escape  into  the 
genial  country  of  which  we  had  heard  so  many  glowing  de- 
scriptions, and  dreaded  to  find  some  vast  interior  lake,  whose 
bitter  waters  would  bring  us  disappointment.  On  the  southern 
shore  of  what  appeared  to  be  the  bay  could  be  traced  the 
gleaming  line  where  entered  another  large  stream  ;  and  again 
the  Buenaventura  rose  up  in  our  minds. 

Carson  had  entered  the  valley  along  the  southern  side  of  the 
bay,  and  remembered  perfectly  to  have  crossed  the  mouth  of  a 
very  large  stream,  which  they  had  been  obliged  to  raft ;  but 
the  country  then  was  so  entirely  covered  with  water  from  snow 
and  rain,  that  he  had  been  able  to  form  no  correct  impressions 
of  water-courses. 

We  had  the  satisfaction  to  know  that  at  least  there  were 
people  below.  Fires  were  lit  up  in  the  valley  just  at  night, 
appearing  to  be  in  answer  to  ours  ;  and  these  signs  of  life  re- 
newed, in  some  measure,  the  gayety  of  the  camp.  They  ap- 
peared so  near,  that  we  judged  them  to  be  among  the  timber 
15 


338  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [FEB. 

of  some  of  the  neighboring  ridges  ;  but,  having  them  con- 
stantly  in  view  day  after  day,  and  night  after  night,  we  after- 
wards  found  them  to  be  fires  that  had  been  kindled  by  the  In- 
dians among  the  tulares,  on  the  shore  of  the  bay,  80  miles 
distant. 

Among  the  very  few  plants  that  appeared  here,  was  the 
common  blue  flax.  To-night  a  mule  was  killed  for  food. 

22d. — Our  breakfast  was  over  long  before  day.  We  took 
advantage  of  the  coolness  of  the  early  morning  to  get  over  the 
snow,  which  to-day  occurred  in  very  deep  banks  among  the 
timber ;  but  we  searched  out  the  coldest  places,  and  the  ani- 
mals passed  successfully  with  their  loads  over  the  hard  crust. 
Now  and  then  the  delay  of  making  a  road  occasioned  much  labor 
and  loss  of  time.  In  the  after  part  of  the  day,  we  saw  before 
us  a  handsome  grassy  ridge  point ;  and,  making  a  desperate 
push  over  a  snow-field  10  to  15  feet  deep,  we  happily  succeed- 
ed in  getting  the  camp  across,  and  encamped  on  the  ridge, 
after  a  march  of  three  miles.  We  had  again  the  prospect  of 
a  thunder-storm  below,  and  to-night  we  killed  another  mule — 
now  our  only  resource  from  starvation. 

We  satisfied  ourselves  during  the  day  that  the  lake  had  an 
outlet  between  two  ranges  on  the  right ;  and  with  this,  the 
creek  on  which  I  had  encamped  probably  effected  a  junction 
below.  Between  these,  we  were  descending. 

We  continued  to  enjoy  the  same  delightful  weather ;  the 
sky  of  the  same  beautiful  blue,  and  such  a  sunset  and  sun- 
rise as  on  our  Atlantic  coast  we  could  scarcely  imagine. 
And  here  among  the  mountains,  9,000  feet  above  the  sea,  we 
have  the  deep-blue  sky  and  sunny  climate  of  Smyrna  and 
Palermo,  which  a  little  map  before  me  shows  are  in  the  same 
latitude. 

The  elevation  above  the  sea,  by  the  boiling  point,  is  8,565 
feet. 

23d. — This  was  our  most  difficult  day  ;  we  were  forced  off 
the  ridges  by  the  quantity  of  snow  among  the  timber,  and 
obliged  to  take  to  the  mountain  sides,  where  occasionally  rocks 
and  a  southern  exposure  afforded  us  a  chance  to  scramble 
along.  But  these  were  steep,  and  slippery  with  snow  and  ice ; 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  339 

and  the  tough  evergreens  of  the  mountain  impeded  our  way, 
tore  our  skins,  and  exhausted  our  patience.  Some  of  us  had 
the  misfortune  to  wear  moccasins  with  parfldche  soles,  so  slip- 
pery that  we  could  not  keep  our  feet,  and  generally  crawled 
across  the  snow-beds.  Axes  and  mauls  were  necessary  to-day, 
to  make  a  road  through  the  snow.  Going  ahead  with  Carson 
to  reconnoitre  the  road,  we  reached  in  the  afternoon  the  river 
which  made  the  outlet  of  the  lake.  Carson  sprang  over,  clear 
across  a  place  where  the  stream  was  compressed  among  rocks, 
but  the  parjleclie  sole  of  my  moccasin  glanced  from  the  icy 
rock,  and  precipitated  me  into  the  river.  It  was  some  few 
seconds  before  I  could  recover  myself  in  the  current,  and 
Carson,  thinking  me  hurt,  jumped  in  after  me,  and  we  both 
had  an  icy  bath.  We  tried  to  search  awhile  for  my  gun,  which 
had  been  lost  in  the  fall,  but  the  cold  drove  us  out ;  and  mak- 
ing a  large  fire  on  the  bank,  after  we  had  partially  dried  our- 
selves we  went  back  to  meet  the  camp.  We  afterwards  found 
that  the  gun  had  been  slung  under  the  ice  which  lined  the 
banks  of  the  creek. 

Using  our  old  plan  of  breaking  roads  with  alternate  horses, 
we  reached  the  creek  in  the  evening,  and  encamped  on  a  dry 
open  place  in  the  ravine. 

Another  branch,  which  we  had  followed,  here  comes  in  on 
the  left;  and  from  this  point  the  mountain  wall,  on  which 
we  had  traveled  to-day,  faces  to  the  south  along  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  where  the  sun  appears  to  have  melted  the  snow ; 
but  the  opposite  ridge  is  entirely  covered.  Here,  among  the 
pines,  the  hill-side  produces  but  little  grass — barely  sufficient 
to  keep  life  in  the  animals.  We  had  the  pleasure  to  be  rained 
upon  this  afternoon  ;  and  grass  was  now  our  greatest  solicitude. 
Many  of  the  men  looked  badly ;  and  some  this  evening  were 
giving  out. 

24th. — We  rose  at  three  in  the  morning,  for  an  astronomical 
observation,  and  obtained  for  the  place  a  lat.  of  38°  46'  58" ; 
long.  120°  34'  20".  The  sky  was  clear  and  pure,  with  a 
sharp  wind  from  the  northeast,  and  the  thermometer  2°  below 
the  freezing  point. 

We  continued  down  the  south  face  of  the  mountain  ;  our  road 


340  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [FEB. 

leading  over  dry  ground,  we  were  able  to  avoid  the  snow  al- 
most entirely.  In  the  course  of  the  morning,  we  struck  a  foot- 
path, which  we  were  generally  able  to  keep ;  and  the  ground  was 
soft  to  our  animals'  feet,  being  sandy  or  covered  with  mould. 
Green  grass  began  to  make  its  appearance,  and  occasionally 
we  passed  a  hill  scatteringly  covered  with  it.  The  character 
of  the  forest  continued  the  same ;  and,  among  the  trees,  the 
pine  with  sharp  leaves  and  very  large  cones  was  abundant, 
some  of  them  being  noble  trees.  We  measured  one  that  had 
10  feet  diameter,  though  the  height  was  not  more  than  130 
feet.  All  along,  the  river  was  a  roaring  torrent,  its  fall  very 
great ;  and,  descending  with  a  rapidity  to  which  we  had  long 
been  strangers,  to  our  great  pleasure  oak-trees  appeared  on  the 
ridge,  and  soon  became  very  frequent ;  on  these  I  remarked 
great  quantities  of  mistletoe.  Rushes  began  to  make  their  ap- 
pearance ;  and  at  a  small  creek  where  they  were  abundant, 
one  of  the  messes  was  left  with  the  weakest  horses,  while  we 
continued  on. 

The  opposite  mountain-side  was  very  steep  and  continuous — 
unbroken  by  ravines,  and  covered  with  pines  and  snow ;  while 
on  the  side  we  were  traveling,  innumerable  rivulets  poured 
down  from  the  ridge.  Continuing  on,  we  halted  a  moment  at 
one  of  these  rivulets,  to  admire  some  beautiful  evergreen-trees, 
resembling  live-oak,  which  shaded  the  little  stream.  They 
were  forty  to  fifty  feet  high,  and  two  in  diameter,  with  a  uni- 
form tufted  top ;  and  the  summer  green  of  their  beautiful 
foliage,  with  the  singing  birds,  and  the  sweet  summer  wind 
which  was  whirling  about  the  dry  oak  leaves,  nearly  intoxicated 
us  with  delight ;  and  we  hurried  on,  filled  with  excitement,  to 
escape  entirely  from  the  horrid  region  of  inhospitable  snow,  to 
the  perpetual  spring  of  the  Sacramento. 

When  we  had  traveled  about  ten  miles,  the  valley  opened  a 
little  to  an  oak  and  pine  bottom,  through  which  ran  rivulets 
closely  bordered  with  rushes,  on  which  our  half-starved  horses 
fell  with  avidity  ;  and  here  we  made  our  encampment.  Here 
the  roaring  torrent  has  already  become  a  river,  and  we  had 
descended  to  an  elevation  of  3,864  feet. 

Along  our  road  to-day  the  rock  was  a  white  granite,  which 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  341 

appears  to  constitute  the  upper  part  of  the  mountains  on  both 
the  eastern  and  western  slopes ;  while  between,  the  central  is 
a  volcanic  rock. 

Another  horse  was  killed  to-night,  for  food. 

25th. — Believing  that  the  difficulties  of  the  road  were  passed, 
and  leaving  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  to  follow  slowly,  as  the  condition 
of  the  animals  required,  I  started  ahead  this  morning  with  a 
oarty  of  eight,  consisting  of  myself,  Mr.  Preuss  and  Mr.  Tal- 
bot,  Carson,  Derosier,  Towns,  Proue,  and  Jacob.  We  took  with 
us  some  of  the  best  animals,  and  my  intention  was  to  proceed 
as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Sutter,  and  return 
to  meet  the  party  with  a  supply  of  provisions  and  fresh  ani- 
mals. 

Continuing  down  the  river,  which  pursued  a  very  direct 
westerly  course  through  a  narrow  valley,  with  only  a  very 
slight  and  narrow  bottom-land,  we  made  twelve  miles,  and  en- 
camped at  some  old  Indian  huts,  apparently  a  fishing-place  on 
the  river.  The  bottom  was  covered  with  trees  of  deciduous 
foliage,  and  overgrown  with  vines  and  rushes.  On  a  bench  of 
the  hill  near  by,  was  a  hill  of  fresh  green  grass,  six  inches 
long  in  some  of  the  tufts  which  I  had  the  curiosity  to  measure. 
The  animals  were  driven  here ;  and  I  spent  part  of  the  after- 
noon sitting  on  a  large  rock  among  them,  enjoying  the  pause- 
less  rapidity  with  which  they  luxuriated  on  the  unaccustomed 
food. 

The  forest  was  imposing  to-day  in  the  magnificence  of  the 
trees;  some  of  the  pines,  bearing  large  cones,  were  10  feet  in 
diameter.  Cedars  also  abounded,  and  we  measured  one  28| 
feet  in  circumference,  four  feet  from  the  ground.  This  noble 
tree  seemed  here  to  be  in  its  proper  soil  and  climate.  We 
found  it  on  both  sides  of  the  Sierra,  but  most  abundant  on  the 
west. 

26th. — We  continued  to  follow  the  stream,  the  mountains  on 
either  hand  increasing  in  height  as  we  descended,  and  shutting 
up  the  river  narrowly  in  precipices,  along  which  we  had  great 
iifficulty  to  get  our  horses. 

It  rained  heavily  during  the  afternoon,  and  we  were  forced 
off  the  river  to  the  heights  above ;  whence  we  descended,  at 


342  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [FEB. 

night-fall,  the  point  of  a  spur  between  the  river  and  a  fork  of 
nearly  equal  size,  coming  in  from  the  right.  Here  we  saw,  on 
the  lower  hills,  the  first  flowers  in  bloom,  which  occurred  sud- 
denly, and  in  considerable  quantity — one  of  them  a  species  of 
gilia. 

The  current  in  both  streams  (rather  torrents  than  rivers) 
was  broken  by  large  boulders.  It  was  late,  and  the  animals 
fatigued ;  and  not  succeeding  to  find  a  ford  immediately,  we 
encamped,  although  the  hill-side  afforded  but  a  few  stray 
bunches  of  grass,  and  the  horses,  standing  about  in  the  rain, 
looked  very  miserable. 

27th. — We  succeeded  in  fording  the  stream,  and  made  a 
trail  by  which  we  crossed  the  point  of  the  opposite  hill,  which, 
on  the  southern  exposure,  was  prettily  covered  with  green 
grass,  and  we  halted  a  mile  from  our  last  encampment.  The 
river  was  only  about  60  feet  wide,  but  rapid,  and  occasionally 
deep,  foaming  among  boulders,  and  the  water  beautifully  clear. 
We  encamped  on  the  hill-slope,  as  there  was  no  bottom  level, 
and  the  opposite  ridge  is  continuous,  affording  no  streams. 

We  had  with  us  a  large  kettle ;  and  a  mule  being  killed 
here,  his  head  was  boiled  in  it  for  several  hours,  and  made  a 
passable  soup  for  famished  people. 

Below,  precipices  on  the  river  forced  us  to  the  heights,  which 
we  ascended  by  a  steep  spur  2,000  feet  high.  My  favorite 
horse,  Proveau,  had  become  very  weak,  and  was  scarcely  able 
to  bring  himself  to  the  top.  Traveling  here  was  good,  except 
in  crossing  the  ravines,  which  were  narrow,  steep,  and  frequent. 
We  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  deer,  the  first  animal  we  had  seen ; 
but  did  not  succeed  in  approaching  him.  Proveau  could  not 
keep  up,  and  I  left  Jacob  to  bring  him  on,  being  obliged  to 
press  forward  with  the  party,  as  there  was  no  grass  in  the 
forest.  We  grew  very  anxious  as  the  day  advanced  and  no 
grass  appeared,  for  the  lives  of  our  animals  depended  on  find- 
ing  it  to-night.  They  were  in  just  such  a  condition  that  grass 
and  repose  for  the  night  enabled  them  to  get  on  the  next  day. 
Every  hour' we  had  been  expecting  to  see  open  out  before  us 
the  valley,  which,  from  the  mountain  above,  seemed  almost  at 
our  feet.  A  new  and  singular  shrub,  which  had  made  its  ap- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  843 

pearance  since  crossing  the  mountain,  was  very  frequent  to- 
day. It  branched  out  near  the  ground,  forming  a  clump  eight 
to  ten  feet  high,  with  pale-green  leaves,  of  an  oval  form ;  and 
the  body  and  branches  had  a  naked  appearance,  as  if  stripped 
of  the  bark,  which  is  very  smooth  and  thin,  of  a  chocolate 
color,  contrasting  well  with  the  pale  green  of  the  leaves.  The 
day  was  nearly  gone ;  we  had  made  a  hard  day's  march,  and 
found  no  grass.  Towns  became  light-headed,  wandering  off 
into  the  woods  without  knowing  where  he  was  going,  and  Jacob 
brought  him  back. 

Near  night-fall  we  descended  into  the  steep  ravine  of  a  hand- 
some creek  30  feet  wide,  and  I  was  engaged  in  getting  the 
horses  up  the  opposite  hill,  when  I  heard  a  shout  from  Carson, 
who  had  gone  ahead  a  few  hundred  yards — "Life  yet,"  said 
he,  as  he  came  up,  "  life  yet ;  I  have  found  a  hill-side  sprinkled 
with  grass  enough  for  the  night."  We  drove  along  our  horses, 
and  encamped  at  the  place  about  dark,  and  there  was  just  room 
enough  to  make  a  place  for  shelter  on  the  edge  of  the  stream. 
Three  horses  were  lost  to-day — Proveau  ;  a  fine  young  horse 
from  the  Columbia,  belonging  to  Charles  Towns ;  and  another 
Indian  horse,  which  carried  our  cooking  utensils.  The  two 
former  gave  out,  and  the  latter  strayed  off  into  the  woods  as 
we  reached  the  camp. 

29th. — We  lay  shut  up  in  the  narrow  ravine,  and  gave  the 
animals  a  necessary  day ;  and  men  were  sent  back  after  the 
others.  Derosier  volunteered  to  bring  up  Proveau,  to  whom 
he  knew  I  was  greatly  attached,  as  he  had  been  my  favorite 
horse  on  both  expeditions.  Carson  and  I  climbed  one  of  the 
nearest  mountains ;  the  forest  land  still  extended  ahead,  and 
the  valley  appeared  as  far  as  ever.  The  pack-horse  was  found 
near  the  camp  ;  but  Derosier  did  not  get  in. 


MARCH. 

1st. — Derosier  did  not  get  in  during  the  night,  and  leaving 
him  to  follow,  as  no  grass  remained  here,  we  continued  on  over 


344  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MARCH, 

the  uplands,  crossing  many  small  streams,  and  camped  again 
on  the  river,  having  made  six  miles.  Here  we  found  the  hill- 
side covered  (although  lightly)  with  fresh  green  grass ;  and 
from  this  time  forward  we  found  it  always  improving  and  abun- 
dant. 

We  made  a  pleasant  camp  on  the  river  hill,  where  were 
some  beautiful  specimens  of  the  chocolate-colored  shrub,  which 
were  a  foot  in  diameter  near  the  ground,  and  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet  high.  The  opposite  ridge  runs  continuously  along,  un- 
broken by  streams.  We  are  rapidly  descending  into  the  spring, 
and  we  are  leaving  our  snowy  region  far  behind  ;  every 
thing  is  getting  green ;  butterflies  are  swarming ;  numerous 
bugs  are  creeping  out,  wakened  from  their  winter's  sleep; 
and  the  forest  flowers  are  coming  into  bloom.  Among  those 
which  appeared  most  numerously  to-day  was  dodecatheon  den- 
tatum. 

We  began  to  be  uneasy  at  Derosier's  absence,  fearing  he 
might  have  been  bewildered  in  the  woods.  Charles  Towns, 
who  had  not  yet  recovered  his  mind,  went  to  swim  in  the 
river,  as  if  it  were  summer,  and  the  stream  placid,  when  it 
was  a  cold  mountain  torrent  foaming  among  the  rocks.  We 
were  happy  to  see  Derosier  appear  in  the  evening.  He  came 
in,  and,  sitting  down  by  the  fire,  began  to  tell  us  where  he 
had  been.  He  imagined  he  had  been  gone  several  days,  and 
thought  we  were  still  at  the  camp  where  he  had  left  us ;  and 
we  were  pained  to  see  that  his  mind  was  deranged.  It  ap- 
peared that  he  had  been  lost  in  the  mountain,  and  hunger  and 
fatigue,  joined  to  weakness  of  body  and  fear  of  perishing  in 
the  mountains,  had  crazed  him.  The  times  were  severe  when 
stout  men  lost  their  minds  from  extremity  of  suffering — when 
horses  died — and  when  mules  and  horses,  ready  to  die  of  starv- 
ation, were  killed  for  food.  Yet  there  was  no  murmuring  or 
hesitation. 

A  short  distance  below  our  encampment  the  river  moun- 
tains terminated  in  precipices,  and,  after  a  fatiguing  march  of 
only  a  few  miles,  we  encamped  on  a  bench  where  there  were 
springs,  and  an  abundance  of  the  freshest  grass.  In  the  mean 
time,  Mr.  Preuss  continued  on  down  the  river,  and,  unaware 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  345 

that  we  had  encamped  so  early  in  the  day,  was  lost.  When 
night  arrived,  and  he  did  not  come  in,  we  began  to  understand 
what  had  happened  to  him ;  but  it  was  too  late  to  make  any 
search. 

3d. — We  followed  Mr.  Preuss'  trail  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance along  the  river,  until  we  reached  a  place  where  he  had 
descended  to  the  stream  below  and  encamped.  Here  we 
shouted  and  fired  guns,  but  received  no  answer ;  and  we  con- 
cluded that  he  had  pushed  on  down  the  stream.  I  determined 
to  keep  out  from  the  river,  along  which  it  was  nearly  imprac- 
ticable to  travel  with  animals,  until  it  should  form  a  valley. 
At  every  step  the  country  improved  in  beauty ;  the  pines 
were  rapidly  disappearing,  and  oaks  became  the  principal 
trees  of  the  forest.  Among  these,  the  prevailing  tree  was 
the  evergreen  oak,  (which,  by  way  of  distinction,  we  call  the 
live-oak  ;)  and  with  these  occurred  frequently  a  new  species  of 
oak  bearing  a  long  slender  acorn,  from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a 
half  in  length,  which  we  now  began  to  see  formed  the  principal 
vegetable  food  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  region.  In  a  short  dis- 
tance we  crossed  a  little  rivulet,  where  were  two  old  huts,  and 
near  by  were  heaps  of  acorn  hulls.  The  ground  round  about 
was  very  rich,  covered  with  an  exuberant  sward  of  grass ;  and 
we  sat  down  for  a  while  in  the  shade  of  the  oaks,  to  let  the 
animals  feed.  We  repeated  our  shouts  for  Mr.  Preuss ;  and 
this  time  were  gratified  with  an  answer.  The  voice  grew 
rapidly  nearer,  ascending  from  the  river ;  but  when  we  ex- 
pected to  see  him  emerge,  it  ceased  entirely.  We  had  called 
up  some  straggling  Indian — the  first  we  had  met,  although  for 
two  days  back  we  had  seen  tracks — who,  mistaking  us  for  his 
fellows,  had  been  only  undeceived  on  getting  close  up.  It 
would  have  been  pleasant  to  witness  his  astonishment ;  he 
would  not  have  been  more  frightened  had  some  of  the  old 
mountain  spirits  they  are  so  much  afraid  of  suddenly  appeared 
in  his  path.  Ignorant  of  the  character  of  these  people,  we  had 
now  an  additional  cause  of  uneasiness  in  regard  to  Mr.  Preuss; 
he  had  no  arms  with  him,  and  we  began  to  think  his  chance 
doubtful.  We  followed  on  a  trail,  still  keeping  out  from  the 
river,  and  descended  to  a  very  large  creek,  dashing  with  great 
15* 


346  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MARCH, 

velocity  over  a  pre-eminently  rocky  bed,  and  among  large  boul- 
ders. The  bed  had  sudden^  breaks,  formed  by  deep  holes  and 
ledges  of  rock  running  across.  Even  here,  it  deserves  the 
name  of  Rock  creek,  which  we  gave  to  it.  We  succeeded  in 
fording  it,  and  toiled  about  three  thousand  feet  up  the  opposite 
hill.  The  mountains  now  were  getting  sensibly  lower ;  but  still 
there  is  no  valley  on  the  river,  which  presents  steep  and  rocky 
banks ;  but  here,  several  miles  from  the  river,  the  country  is 
smooth  and  grassy ;  the  forest  has  no  undergrowth ;  and  in 
the  open  valleys  of  rivulets,  or  around  spring-heads,  the  low 
groves  of  live-oak  give  the  appearance  of  orchards  in  an  old 
cultivated  country.  Occasionally  we  met  deer,  but  had  not 
the  necessary  time  for  hunting.  At  one  of  these  orchard- 
grounds,  we  encamped  about  noon  to  make  an  effort  for  Mr. 
Preuss.  One  man  took  his  way  along  a  spur  leading  into 
the  river,  in  hope  to  cross  his  trail ;  and  another  took  our  own 
back.  Both  were  volunteers ;  and  to  the  successful  man  was 
promised  a  pair  of  pistols — not  as  a  reward,  but  as  a  token 
of  gratitude  for  a  service  which  would  free  us  all  from  much 
anxiety. 

We  had  among  our  few  animals  a  horse  which  was  so 
much  reduced,  that,  with  traveling,  even  the  good  grass  could 
not  save  him ;  and,  having  nothing  to  eat,  he  was  killed  this 
afternoon.  He  was  a  good  animal,  and  had  made  the  journey 
round  from  Fort  Hall. 

Dodecatheon  dentatum  continued  the  characteristic  plant  in 
flower ;  and  the  naked-looking  shrub  already  mentioned  con- 
tinued characteristic,  beginning  to  put  forth  a  small  white  blos- 
som. At  evening  the  men  returned,  having  seen  or  heard 
nothing  of  Mr.  Preuss ;  and  I  determined  to  make  a  hard  push 
down  the  river  the  next  morning  and  get  ahead  of  him. 

4th. — We  continued  rapidly  along  on  a  broad  plainly-beaten 
trail,  the  mere  travelir.g  and  breathing  the  delightful  air  being 
a  positive  enjoyment.  Our  road  led  along  a  ridge  inclining  to 
the  river,  and  the  air  and  the  open  grounds  were  fragrant  with 
flowering  shrubs  ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  morning  we  issued 
on  an  open  spur,  by  which  we  descended  directly  to  the  stream. 
Here  the  river  issues  suddenly  from  the  mountains,  which 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  847 

hitherto  had  hemmed  it  closely  in  ;  these  now  become  softer, 
and  change  sensibly  their  character ;  and  at  this  point  com- 
mences the  most  beautiful  valley  in  which  we  had  ever  traveled. 
We  hurried  to  the  river,  on  which  we  noticed  a  small  sand 
beach,  to  which  Mr.  Preuss  would  naturally  have  gone.  We 
found  no  trace  of  him,  but,  instead,  were  recent  tracks  of  bare- 
footed Indians,  and  little  piles  of  muscle-shells,  and  old  fires 
where  they  had  roasted  the  fish.  We  traveled  on  over  the 
river  grounds,  which  were  undulating,  and  covered  with  grass 
to  the  river  brink.  We  halted  to  noon  a  few  miles  beyond, 
always  under  the  shade  of  the  evergreen  oaks,  which  formed 
open  groves  on  the  bottoms. 

Continuing  our  road  in  the  afternoon,  we  ascended  to  the 
uplands,  where  the  river  passes  round  a  point  of  great  beau- 
ty, and  goes  through  very  remarkable  dalles,  in  character  re- 
sembling those  of  the  Columbia.  Beyond,  we  again  descended 
to  the  bottoms,  where  we  found  an  Indian  village,  consisting 
of  two  or  three  huts  ;  we  had  come  upon  them  suddenly,  and 
the  people  had  evidently  just  run  off.  The  huts  were  low  and 
slight,  made  like  beehives  in  a  picture,  five  or  six  feet  high, 
and  near  each  was  a  crate,  formed  of  interlaced  branches  and 
grass,  in  size  and  shape  like  a  very  large  hogshead.  Each  of 
these  contained  from  six  to  nine  bushels.  These  were  filled 
with  the  long  acorns  already  mentioned,  and  in  the  huts  were 
several  neatly-made  baskets,  containing  quantities  of  the  acorns 
roasted.  They  were  sweet  and  agreeably  flavored,  and  we 
supplied  ourselves  with  about  half  a  bushel,  leaving  one  of  our 
shirts,  a  handkerchief,  and  some  smaller  articles,  in  exchange. 
The  river  again  entered  for  a  space  among  the  hills,  and  we 
followed  a  trail  leading  across  a  bend  through  a  handsome  hol- 
low behind.  Here,  while  engaged  in  trying  to  circumvent  a 
deer,  we  discovered  some  Indians  on  a  hill  several  hundred 
yards  ahead,  and  gave  them  a  shout,  to  which  they  responded 
by  loud  and  rapid  talking  and  vehement  gesticulation,  but  made 
no  stop,  hurrying  up  the  mountain  as  fast  as  their  legs  could 
carry  them.  We  passed  on,  and  again  encamped  in  a  grassy 
grove. 

The  absence  of  Mr.  Preuss  gave  me  great  concern  ;  and, 


348  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MARCH, 

for  a  large  reward,  Derosier  volunteered  to  go  back  on  the  trail. 
I  directed  him  to  search  along  the  river,  traveling  upward  for 
the  space  of  a  day  and  a  half,  at  which  time  I  expected  he 
would  meet  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  whom  I  requested  to  aid  in  the 
search  ;  at  all  events,  he  was  to  go  no  farther,  but  return  to 
this  camp,  where  a  cache  of  provisions  was  made  for  him. 

Continuing  the  next  day  down  the  river,  we  discovered  three 
squaws  in  a  little  bottom,  and  surrounded  them  before  they 
could  make  their  escape.  They  had  large  conical  baskets, 
which  they  were  engaged  in  filling  with  a  small  leafy  plant 
(erodium  cicutarium)  just  now  beginning  to  bloom,  and  covering 
the  ground  like  a  sward  of  grass.  '£hese  did  not  make  any 
lamentations,  but  appeared  very  much  impressed  with  our  ap- 
pearance, speaking  to  us  only  in  a  whisper,  and  offering  us 
smaller  baskets  of  the  plant,  which  they  signified  to  us  was 
good  to  eat,  making  signs  also  that  it  was  to  be  cooked  by  the 
fire.  We  drew  out  a  little  cold  horse-meat,  and  the  squaws 
made  signs  to  us  that  the  men  had  gone  out  after  deer,  and  that 
we  could  have  some  by  waiting  till  they  came  in.  We  ob- 
served that  the  horses  ate  with  great  avidity  the  herb  which 
they  had  been  gathering;  and  here  also,  for  the  first  time, 
we  saw  Indians  eat  the  common  grass— one  of  the  squaws 
pulling  several  tufts,  and  eating  it  with  apparent  relish.  See- 
ing our  surprise,  she  pointed  to  the  horses  ;  but  we  could  not 
well  understand  what  she  meant,  except,  perhaps,  that  what 
was  good  for  the  one  was  good  for  the  other. 

We  encamped  in  the  evening  on  the  shore  of  the  river,  at  a 
place  where  the  associated  beauties  of  scenery  made  so  strong 
an  impression  on  us  that  we  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Beautiful 
Camp.  The  undulating  river  shore  was  shaded  with  the  live- 
oaks,  which  formed  a  continuous  grove  over  the  country,  and 
the  same  grassy  sward  extended  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  and 
we  made  our  fires  near  some  large  granite  masses  which  were 
lying  among  the  trees.  We  had  seen  several  of  the  acorn 
caches  during  the  day,  and  here  there  were  two  which  were 
very  large,  containing  each,  probably,  ten  bushels.  Towards 
evening  we  heard  a  weak  shout  among  the  hills  behind,  and 
had  the  pleasure  to  see  Mr.  Preuss  descending  towards  the 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  349 

camp.  Like  ourselves,  he  had  traveled  to-day  25  miles,  but 
had  seen  nothing  of  Derosier.  Knowing,  on  the  day  he  was  lost, 
that  I  was  determined  to  keep  the  river  as  much  as  possible,  he 
had  not  thought  it  necessary  to  follow  the  trail  very  closely,  but 
walked  on,  right  and  left,  certain  to  find  it  somewhere  along 
the  river,  searching  places  to  obtain  good  views  of  the  coun- 
try. Towards  sunset  he  climbed  down  towards  the  river  to 
look  for  the  camp  ;  but,  finding  no  trail,  concluded  that  we 
were  behind,  and  walked  back  till  night  came  on,  when,  being 
very  much  fatigued,  he  collected  drift-wood  and  made  a  large 
fire  among  the  rocks.  The  next  day  it  became  more  serious 
and  he  encamped  again  alone,  thinking  that  we  must  havi 
taken  some  other  course.  To  go  back  would  have  been  mad 
ness  in  his  weak  and  starved  condition,  and  onward  towards 
the  valley  was  his  only  hope,  always  in  expectation  of  reach- 
ing it  soon.  His  principal  means  of  subsistence  were  a  few 
roots,  which  the  hunters  call  sweet  onions,  having  very  little 
taste,  but  a  good  deal  of  nutriment,  growing  generally  in 
rocky  ground,  and  requiring  a  good  deal  of  labor  to  get,  as  he 
had  only  a  pocket-knife.  Searching  for  these,  he  found  a  nest 
of  big  ants,  which  he  let  run  on  his  hand,  and  stripped  them 
off  in  his  mouth  ;  these  had  an  agreeable  acid  taste.  One  of 
his  greatest  privations  was  the  want  of  tobacco  ;  and  a  pleas- 
ant smoke  at  evening  would  have  been  a  relief  which  only  a 
voyageur  could  appreciate.  He  tried  the  dried  leaves  of  the 
live-oak,  knowing  that  those  of  other  oaks  were  sometimes 
used  as  a  substitute  ;  but  these  were  too  thick,  and  would  not 
do.  On  the  4th  he  made  seven  or  eight  miles,  walking  slowly 
along  the  river,  avoiding  as  much  as  possible  to  climb  the  hills. 
In  little  pools  he  caught  some  of  the  stnallest  kind  of  frogs, 
which  he  swallowed,  not  so  much  in  the  gratification  of  hun- 
ger, as  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  some  strength.  Scattered  along 
the  river  were  old  fire-places,  where  the  Indians  had  roasted 
muscles  and  acorns ;  but  though  he  searched  diligently,  he  did 
not  there  succeed  in  finding  either.  He  had  collected  firewood 
for  the  night,  when  he  heard,  at  some  distance  from  the  river, 
the  barking  of  what  he  thought  were  two  dogs,  and  walked  ic 
that  direction  as  quickly  as  he  was  able,  hoping  to  find  there 


v.i*-*tf* 

350  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MARCH, 

some  Indian  hut,  but  met  only  two  wolves ;  and,  in  his  disap- 
pointment, the  gloom  of  the  forest  was  doubled. 

Traveling  the  next  day  feebly  down  the  river,  he  found  five 
or  six  Indians  at  the  huts  of  which  we  have  spoken :  some 
were  painting  themselves  black,  and  others  roasting  acorns. 
Being  only  one  man,  they  did  not  run  off,  but  received  him 
kindly,  and  gave  him  a  welcome  supply  of  roasted  acorns. 
He  gave  them  his  pocket-knife  in  return,  and  stretched  out  his 
hand  to  one  of  the  Indians,  who  did  not  appear  to  comprehend 
the  motion,  but  jumped  back,  as  if  he  thought  he  was  about  to 
lay  hold  of  him.  They  seemed  afraid  of  him,  not  certain  as 
to  what  he  was. 

Traveling  on,  he  came  to  the  place  where  we  had  found  the 
squaws.  Here  he  found  our  fire  still  burning,  and  the  tracks 
of  the  horses.  The  sight  gave  him  sudden  hope  and  courage  ; 
and,  following  as  fast  as  he  could,  joined  us  at  evening. 

6th. — We  continued  on  our  road  through  the  same  surpass- 
ingly beautiful  country,  entirely  unequalled  for  the  pasturage 
of  stock  by  any  thing  we  had  ever  seen.  Our  horses  had  now 
become  so  strong  that  they  were  able  to  carry  us,  and  we 
traveled  rapidly — over  four  miles  an  hour ;  four  of  us  riding 
every  alternate  hour.  Every  few  hundred  yards  we  came 
upon  a  little  band  of  deer ;  but  we  were  too  eager  to  reach  the 
settlement,  which  we  momentarily  expected  to  discover,  to  halt 
for  any  other  than  a  passing  shot.  In  a  few  hours  we  reached 
a  large  fork,  the  northern  branch  of  the  river,  and  equal  in 
size  to  that  which  we  had  descended.  Together  they  formed 
a  beautiful  stream,  60  to  100  yards  wide ;  which  at  first,  igno- 
rant of  the  nature  of  the  country  through  which  that  river  ran, 
we  took  to  be  the  Sacramento. 

We  continued  down  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  traveling  for 
a  while  over  a  wooded  upland,  where  we  had  the  delight  to 
discover  tracks  of  cattle.  To  the  southwest  was  visible  a  black 
column  of  smoke,  which  we  had  frequenth  noticed  in  descend- 
ing, arising  from  the  fires  we  had  seen  from  the  top  of  the 
Sierra.  From  the  upland  we  descended  into  broad  groves  on 
the  river,  consisting  of  the  evergreen,  and  a  new  species  of  a 
white-oak,  with  a  large  tufted  top,  and  three  to  six  feet  in  diam- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  351 


eter.  Among  these  was  no  brushwood  ;  and  the  grassy  sur- 
face gave  to  it  the  appearance  of  parks  in  an  old-settled  coun- 
try. Following  the  tracks  of  the  horses  and  cattle,  in  search 
of  people,  we  discovered  a  small  village  of  Indians.  Some  of 
these  had  on  shirts  of  civilized  manufacture,  but  were  other- 
wise naked,  and  we  could  understand  nothing  from  them  :  they 
appeared  entirely  astonished  at  seeing  us. 

We  made  an  acorn  meal  at  noon,  and  hurried  on  ;  the  val- 
ley being  gay  with  flowers,  and  some  of  the  banks  being  abso- 
lutely golden  with  the  Californian  poppy,  (eschescholtzia  crocea.) 
Here  the  grass  was  smooth  and  green,  and  the  groves  very  open  ; 
the  large  oaks  throwing  a  broad  shade  among  sunny  spots. 
Shortly  afterwards  we  gave  a  shout  at  the  appearance,  on  a 
little  bluff,  of  a  neatly-built  adobe  house,  with  glass  windows. 
We  rode  up,  but,  to  our  disappointment,  found  only  Indians. 
There  was  no  appearance  of  cultivation,  and  we  could  see  no 
cattle  ;  and  we  supposed  the  place  had  been  abandoned.  We 
now  pressed  on  more  eagerly  than  ever  :  the  river-swept  round 
a  large  bend  to  the  right  ;  the  hills  lowered  down  entirely  ; 
and,  gradually  entering  a  broad  valley,  we  came  unexpectedly 
into  a  large  Indian  village,  where  the  people  looked  clean,  and 
wore  cotton  shirts  and  various  other  articles  of  dress.  They 
immediately  crowded  around  us,  and  we  had  the  inexpressible 
delight  to  find  one  who  spoke  a  little  indifferent  Spanish,  but 
who  at  first  confounded  us  by  saying  there  were  no  whites  in 
the  country  ;  but  just  then  a  well-dressed  Indian  came  up,  and 
made  his  salutations  in  very  well-spoken  Spanish.  In  answer 
to  our  inquiries,  he  informed  us  that  we  were  upon  the  Rio  de 
los  Americanos,  (the  river  of  the  Americans^)  and  that  it  joined 
the  Sacramento  river  about  ten  miles  below.  v  Never  did  a  name 
sound  more  sweetly  !  We  felt  ourselves  among  our  country- 
men ;  for  the  name  of  American,  in  these  distant  parts,  is  ap- 
plied to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  To  our  eager  inqui- 
ries he  answered,  "  I  am  a  vaquero  (cowherd)  in  the  service  of 
Capt.  Sutter,  and  the  people  of  this  ranchena  work  for  him." 
Our  evident  satisfaction  made  him  communicative  ;  and  he 
went  on  to  say  that  Capt.  Sutter  was  a  very  rich  man,  and  al- 
ways glad  to  see  his  country  people.  We  asked  for  his  house. 


352  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MARCH, 

He  answered,  that  it  was  just  over  the  hill  before  us;  and 
offered,  if  we  would  wait  a  moment,  to  take  his  horse  and  con- 
duct  us  to  it.  We  readily  accepted  this  civil  offer.  In  a  short 
distance  we  came  in  sight  of  the  fort ;  and,  passing  on  the  way 
the  house  of  a  settler  on  the  opposite  side,  (a  Mr.  Sinclair,)  we 
forded  the  river ;  and  in  a  few  miles  were  met,  a  short  distance 
from  the  fort,  by  Capt.  Sutler  himself.  He  gave  us  a  most 
frank  and  cordial  reception — conducted  us  immediately  to  his 
residence — and  under  his  hospitable  roof  we  had  a  night  of 
rest,  enjoyment,  and  refreshment,  which  none  but  ourselves 
could  appreciate.  But  the  party  left  in  the  mountains,  with 
Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  were  to  be  attended  to  ;  and  the  next  morning, 
supplied  with  fresh  horses  and  provisions,  I  hurried  off  to  meet 
them.  On  the  second  day  we  met,  a  few  miles  below  the  forks 
of  the  Rio  de  los  Americanos ;  and  a  more  forlorn  and  pitiable 
sight  than  they  presented,  cannot  well  be  imagined.  They 
were  all  on  foot — each  man,  weak  and  emaciated,  leading  a 
horse  or  muLe  as  weak  and  emaciated  as  themselves.  They 
had  experienced  great  difficulty  in  descending  the  mountains, 
made  slippery  by  rains  and  melting  snows,  and  many  horses 
fell  over  precipices,  and  were  killed ;  and  with  some  were  lost 
the  packs  they  carried.  Among  these,  was  a  mule  with  the 
plants  which  we  had  collected  since  leaving  Fort  Hall,  along 
a  line  of  2,000  miles'  travel.  Out  of  67  horses  and  mules, 
with  which  we  commenced  crossing  the  Sierra,  only  33  reached 
the  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  and  they  only  in  a  condition  to 
be  led  along.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and  his  party,  traveling  more 
slowly,  had  been  able  to  make  some  little  exertion  at  hunting, 
and  had  killed  a  few  deer.  The  scanty  supply  was  a  great 
relief  to  them ;  for  several  had  been  made  sick  by  the  strange 
and  unwholesome  food  which  the  preservation  of  life  compelled 
them  to  use.  We  stopped  and  encamped  as  soon  as  we  met ; 
and  a  repast  of  good  beef,  excellent  bread,  and  delicious  salmon, 
which  I  had  brought  along,  was  their  first  relief  from  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  Sierra,  and  their  first  introduction  to  the  luxuries 
of  the  Sacramento.  It  required  all  our  philosophy  and  for- 
bearance to  prevent  plenty  from  becoming  as  hurtful  to  us  DOW, 
as  scarcity  had  been  before. 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  353 

The  next  day,  March  8th,  we  encamped  at  the  junction  of 
the  two  rivers,  the  Sacramento  and  Americanos;  and  thus 
found  the  whole  party  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Sacramento. 
It  was  a  convenient  place  for  the  camp ;  and,  among  other 
things,  was  within  reach  of  the  wood  necessary  to  make  the  pack- 
saddles,  which  we  should  need  on  our  long  journey  home,  from 
which  we  were  farther  distant  now  than  we  were  four  months 
before,  when  from  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  we  so  cheerfully 
took  up  the  homeward  line  of  march. 

Captain  Sutter  emigrated  to  this  country  from  the  western 
part  of  Missouri  in  1838-39,  and  formed  the  first  settlement  in 
the  valley,  on  a  large  grant  of  land  which  he  obtained  from 
the  Mexican  Government.  He  had,  at  first,  some  trouble  with 
the  Indians ;  but.  by  the  occasional  exercise  of  well-timed 
authority,  he  has  succeeded  in  converting  them  into  a  peaceable 
and  industrious  people.  The  ditches  around  his  extensive 
wheat-fields ;  the  making  of  the  sun-dried  bricks,  of  which  his 
fort  is  constructed ;  the  ploughing,  harrowing,  and  other  agri- 
cultural operations,  are  entirely  the  work  of  these  Indians,  for 
which  they  receive  a  very  moderate  compensation — principally 
in  shirts,  blankets,  and  other  articles  of  clothing.  In  the  same 
manner,  on  application  to  the  chief  of  a  village,  he  readily  ob- 
tains as  many  boys  and  girls  as  he  has  any  use  for.  There 
were  at  this  time  a  number  of  girls  at  the  fort,  in  training  for 
a  future  woolen  factory ;  but  they  were  now  all  busily  en- 
gaged in  constantly  watering  the  gardens,  which  the  unfavora- 
ble dryness  of  the  season  rendered  necessary.  The  occasional 
dryness  of  some  seasons,  I  understood  to  be  the  only  complaint 
of  the  settlers  in  this  fertile  valley,  as  it  sometimes  renders  the 
crops  uncertain.  Mr.  Sutter  was  about  making  arrangements 
to  irrigate  his  lands  by  means  of  the  Rio  de  k>s  Americanos. 
He  had  this  year  sown,  and  altogether  by  Indian  labor,  three 
hundred  fanegas  of  wheat. 

A  few  years  since,  the  neighboring  Russian  establishment 
of  Ross,  being  about  to  withdraw  from  the  country,  sold  to  him 
a  large  number  of  stock,  with  agricultural  and  other  stores, 
with  a  number  of  pieces  of  artillery  and  other  munitions  of 
war ;  for  these,  a  regular  yearly  payment  is  made  in  grain. 


354  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MARCH, 

The  fort  is  a  quadrangular  adobe  structure,  mounting  twelve 
pieces  of  artillery,  (two  of  them  brass,)  and  capable  of  ad- 
mitting a  garrison  of  a  thousand  men  ;  this,  at  present,  con- 
sists of  forty  Indians  in  uniform — one  of  whom  was  always 
found  on  duty  at  the  gate.  As  might  naturally  be  expected, 
the  pieces  are  not  in  very  good  order.  The  whites  in  the 
employment  of  Capt.  Sutter,  American,  French,  and  German, 
amount,  perhaps,  to  thirty  men.  The  inner  wall  is  formed 
into  buildings,  comprising  the  common  quarters,  with  black- 
smith and  other  workshops ;  the  dwelling-house,  with  a  large 
distillery-house,  and  other  buildings,  occupying  more  the  centre 
of  the  area. 

It  is  built  upon  a  pond-like  stream,  at  times  a  running  creek 
communicating  with  the  Rio  de  los  Americanos,  which  enters 
the  Sacramento  about  two  miles  below.  The  latter  is  here  a 
noble  river,  about  three  hundred  yards  broad,  deep  and  tran- 
quil, with  several  fathoms  of  water  in  the  channel,  and  its 
banks  continuously  timbered.  There  were  two  vessels  be- 
longing to  Gapt.  Sutter  at  anchor  near  the  landing — one  a 
large  two-masted  lighter,  and  the  other  a  schooner,  which  was 
shortly  to  proceed  on  a  voyage  to  Fort  Vancouver  for  a  cargo 
of  goods. 

Since  his  arrival,  several  other  persons,  principally  Ameri- 
cans, have  established  themselves  in  the  valley.  Mr.  Sinclair, 
from  whom  I  experienced  much  kindness  during  my  stay,  is 
settled  a  few  miles  distant,  on  the  Rio  de  los  Americanos.  Mr. 
Coudrois,  a  gentleman  from  Germany,  has  established  himself 
on  Feather  river,  and  is  associated  with  Capt.  Sutter  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  Among  other  improvements,  they  are  about 
to  introduce  the  cultivation  of  rape-seed,  (hrassica  rapus,)  which 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  is  admirably  adapted  to  the 
climate  and  soil.  The  lowest  average  produce  of  wheat,  as 
far  as  we  can  at  present  know,  is  thirty-five  fanegas  for  one 
sown ;  but,  as  an  instance  of  its  fertility,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  Senor  Valejo  obtained,  on  a  piece  of  ground  where  sheep 
had  been  pastured,  800  fanegas  for  eight  sown.  The  produce 
being  different  in  various  places,  a  very  correct  idea  cannot  be 
formed. 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  855 

An  impetus  was  given  to  the  active  little  population  by  our 
arrival,  as  we  were  in  want  of  every  thing.  Mules,  horses, 
and  cattle,  were  to  be  collected ;  the  horse-mill  was  at  work 
day  and  night,  to  make  sufficient  flour ;  the  blacksmith's  shop 
was  put  in  requisition  for  horse-shoes  and  bridle-bits;  and 
pack-saddles,  ropes,  and  bridles,  and  all  the  other  little  equip- 
ments of  the  camp,  were  again  to  be  provided. 

The  delay  thus  occasioned  was  one  of  repose  and  enjoyment, 
which  our  situation  required,  and,  anxious  as  we  were  to  re- 
sume our  homeward  journey,  was  regretted  by  no  one.  In  the 
mean  time,  I  had  the  pleasure  to  meet  with  Mr.  Chiles,  who 
was  residing  at  a  farm  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  Sacramen- 
*  to,  while  engaged  in  the  selection  of  a  place  for  a  settlement, 
for  which  he  had  received  the  necessary  grant  of  land  from  the 
Mexican  government. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  we  had  parted  near  the  frontier 
of  the  states,  and  that  he  had  subsequently  descended  the  val- 
ley of  Lewis's  fork,  with  a  party  of  ten  or  twelve  men,  with 
the  intention  of  crossing  the  intermediate  mountains  to  the 
waters  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  In  the  execution  of  this 
design,  and  aided  by  subsequent  information,  he  left  the  Co- 
lumbia at  the  mouth  of  Malheur  river,  and,  making  his  way  to 
the  head-waters  of  the  Sacramento  with  a  part  of  his  company, 
traveled  down  that  river  to  the  settlements  of  Nueva  Helvetia. 
The  other  party,  to  whom  he  had  committed  his  wagons,  and 
mill-irons,  and  saws,  took  a  course  further  to  the  south,  and  the 
wagons  and  their  contents  were  lost. 

On  the  22d  we  made  a  preparatory  move,  and  encamped 
near  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Sinclair,  on  the  left/bank  of  the  Rio 
de  los  Americanos.  I  had  discharged  five  of  the  partv  ;  Neal, 
the  blacksmith,  (an  excellent  workman,  ami  an  unmarried 
man,  who  had  done  his  duty  faithfully,  and  had  been  of  very 
great  service  to  me,)  desired  to  remain,  as  strong  inducements 
were  offered  here  to  mechanics. 

Although  at  considerable  inconvenience  to  myself,  his  good 
conduct  induced  me  to  comply  with  his  request ;  and  I  ob- 
tained for  him  from  Capt.  Sutler,  a  present  compensation  of 
two  dollars  and  a  half  per  dieru,  with  a  promise  that  it  should 


356  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MARCH, 

be  increased  to  five,  if  he  proved  as  good  a  workman  as  had 
been  represented.  He  was  more  particularly  an  agricultural 
blacksmith.  The  other  men  were  discharged  with  their  own 
consent. 

While  we  remained  at  this  place,  Derosier,  one  of  our  best 
men,  whose  steady  good  conduct  had  won  my  regard,  wander- 
ed off  from  the  camp,  and  never  returned  to  it  again,  nor  has 
he  since  been  heard  of. 

24th. — We  resumed  our  journey  with  an  ample  stock  of 
provisions  and  a  large  cavalcade  of  animals,  consisting  of  130 
horses  and  mules,  and  about  30  head  of  cattle,  five  of  which 
were  milch- cows.  Mr.  Sutter  furnished  us  also  with  an  Indian 
boy,  who  had  been  trained  as  a  vaquero,  and  who  would  be 
serviceable  in  managing  our  cavalcade,  great  part  of  which 
were  nearly  as  wild  as  buffalo,  and  who  was,  besides,  very  anx- 
ious to  go  along  with  us.  Our  direct  course  home  was  east,  but 
the  Sierra  would  force  us  south,  above  500  miles  of  traveling, 
to  a  pass  at  the  head  of  the  San  Joaquin  river.  This  pass,  re- 
ported  to  be  good,  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Joseph  Walker,  of 
whom  I  have  already  spoken,  and  whose  name  it  might  there- 
fore appropriately  bear.  To  reach  it,  our  course  lay  along  the 
valley  of  the  San  Joaquin — the  river  on  our  right,  and  the  lofty 
wall  of  the  impassable  Sierra  on  the  left.  From  that  pass  we 
were  to  move  southeastwardly,  having  the  Sierra  then  on  the 
right,  and  reach  the  "  Spanish  trail"  deviously  traced  from  one 
watering-place  to  another,  which  constituted  the  route  of  the 
caravans  from  Pueblo,  de  los  Angelas,  near  the  coast  of  the 
Pacific,  to  Santa  Fe  of  New  Mexico.  From  the  pass  to  this 
trail  was  150  miles.  Following  that  trail  through  a  desert, 
relieved  by  some  fertile  plains  indicated  by  the  recurrence  of 
the  term  vegas,  until  it  turned  to  the  right  to  cross  the  Colorado, 
our  course  would  be  northeast  until  we  regained  the  latitude 
we  had  lost  in  arriving  at  Eutah  lake,  and  thence  to  the  Rocky 
mountains  at  the  head  of  the  Arkansas.  This  course  of  trav- 
eling, forced  upon  us  by  the  structure  of  the  country,  would 
occupy  a  computed  distance  of  2,000  miles  before  we  reached 
the  head  of  the  Arkansas — not  a  settlement  to  be  seen  upon 
it — and  the  names  of  places  along  it,  all  being  Spanish  or  In- 


• 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  357 

dian,  indicated  that  it  had  been  but  little  trod  by  American  feet. 
Though  long,  and  not  free  from  hardships,  this  route  presented 
some  points  of  attraction,  in  tracing  the  Sierra  Nevada — turn- 
ing the  Great  Basin,  perhaps  crossing  its  rim  on  the  south — 
completely  solving  the  problem  of  any  river,  except  the  Colo- 
rado, from  the  Rocky  mountains  on  that  part  of  our  continent 
— and  seeing  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Great  Salt  lake,  of 
which  the  northern  part  had  been  examined  the  year  before. 

Taking  leave  of  Mr.  Sutter,  who,  with  several  gentlemen, 
accompanied  us  a  few  miles  on  our  way,  we  traveled  about  18 
miles,  and  encamped  on  the  Rio  de  los  Cosumnes,  a  stream  re- 
ceiving its  name  from  the  Indians  who  live  in  its  valley.  Our 
road  was  through  a  level  country,  admirably  suited  to  cultiva- 
tion, and  covered  with  groves  of  oak-trees,  principally  the 
evergreen-oak,  and  a  large  oak  already  mentioned,  in  form  like 
those  of  the  white-oak.  The  weather,  which  here,  at  this  sea- 
son, can  easily  be  changed  from  the  summer  heat  of  the  valley 
to  the  frosty  mornings  and  bright  days  nearer  the  mountains, 
continued  delightful  for  travelers,  but  unfavorable  to  the  agri- 
culturists, whose  crops  of  wheat  began  to  wear  a  yellow  tinge 
from  want  of  rain. 

25th. — We  traveled  for  28  miles  over  the  same  delightful 
country  as  yesterday,  and  halted  in  a  beautiful  bottom  at  the 
ford  of  the  Rio  de  los  Mukelemnes,  receiving  its  name  from  an- 
other Indian  tribe  living  on  the  river.  The  bottoms  on  the 
stream  are  broad,  rich,  and  extremely  fertile,  and  the  uplands 
are  shaded  with  oak  groves.  A  showy  lupinus,  of  extraordi- 
nary beauty,  growing  four  to  five  feet  in  height,  and  covered 
with  spikes  in  bloom,  adorned  the  banks  of  the1  river,  and  filled 
the  air  with  a  light  and  grateful  perfume. 

On  the  26th  we  halted  at  the  Arroyo  de  las  Calaveras,  (Skull 
creek,)  a  tributary  to  the  San  Joaquin  —  the  previous  two 
streams  entering  the  bay  between  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacra- 
mento rivers.  This  place  is  beautiful,  with  open  groves  of 
oak,  and  a  grassy  sward  beneath,  with  many  plants  in  bloom, 
some  varieties  of  which  seem  to  love  the  shade  of  the  trees, 
and  grow  there  in  close  small  fields.  Near  the  river,  and  re- 
placing  the  grass,  are  great  quantities  of  ammole,  (soap  plant,) 


858  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MARCH, 

the  leaves  of  which  are  used  in  California  for  making,  among 
other  things,  mats  for  saddle-cloths.  A  vine  with  a  small  white 
flower,  (melothria  ?)  called  here  la  yerba  buena,  and  which, 
from  its  abundance,  gives  name  to  an  island  and  town  in  the 
bay,  was  to-day  very  frequent  on  our  road — sometimes  running 
on  the  ground  or  climbing  the  trees. 

27th. — To-day  we  traveled  steadily  and  rapidly  up  the  val- 
ley ;  for,  with  our  wild  animals,  any  other  gait  was  impossi- 
ble, and  making  about  five  miles  an  hour.  During  the  earlier 
part  of  the  day,  our  ride  had  been  over  a  very  level  prairie,  or 
rather  a  succession  of  long  stretches  of  prairie,  separated  by 
lines  and  groves  of  oak  timber,  growing  along  dry  gullies, 
which  are  filled  with  water  in  seasons  of  rain  ;  and,  perhaps, 
also,  by  the  melting  snows.  Over  much  of  this  extent,  the 
vegetation  was  sparse ;  the  surface  showing  plainly  the  action 
of  water,  which,  in  the  season  of  flood,  the  Joaquin  spreads 
over  the  valley.  About  one  o'clock  we  came  again  among 
innumerable  flowers ;  and  a  few  miles  further,  fields  of  the 
beautiful  blue-flowering  lupine,  which  seems  to  love  the  neigh- 
borhood of  water,  indicated  that  we  were  approaching  a  stream. 
We  here  found  this  beautiful  shrub  in  thickets,  some  of  them 
being  12  feet  in  height.  Occasionally  three  or  four  plants 
were  clustered  together,  forming  a  grand  bouquet,  about  90 
feet  in  circumference,  and  10  feet  high;  the  whole  summit 
covered  with  spikes  of  flowers,  the  perfume  of  which  is  very 
sweet  and  grateful.  A  lover  of  natural  beauty  can  imagine 
with  what  pleasure  we  rode  among  these  flowering  groves, 
which  filled  the  air  with  a  light  and  delicate  fragrance.  We 
continued  our  road  for  about  a  half  a  mile,  interspersed  through 
an  open  grove  of  live-oaks,  which,  in  form,  were  the  most  sym- 
metrical and  beautiful  we  had  yet  seen  in  this  country.  The 
ends  of  their  branches  rested  on  the  ground,  forming  somewhat 
more  than  a  half  sphere  of  very  full  and  regular  figure,  with* 
leaves  apparently  smaller  than  usual. 

The  Californian  poppy,  of  a  rich  orange  color,  was  numer- 
ous to-day.     Elk  and  several  bands  of  antelope  made  their  ap- 
pearance. 
.     Our  road  was  now  one  continued  enjoyment;  and  it  was 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  359 

pleasant  riding  among  this  assemblage  of  green  pastures  with 
varied  flowers  and  scattered  groves,  and  out  of  the  warm  green 
spring  to  look  at  the  rocky  and  snowy  peaks  where  lately  we 
had  suffered  so  much.  Emerging  from  the  timber,  we  came 
suddenly  upon  the  Stanislaus  river,  where  we  hoped  to  find 
a  ford,  but  the  stream  was  flowing  by,  dark  and  deep,  swol- 
len by  the  mountain  snows ;  its  general  breadth  was  about  50 
yards. 

We  traveled  about  five  miles  up  the  river,  and  encamped 
without  being  able  to  find  a  ford.  Here  we  made  a  large 
coral,  in  order  to  be  able  to  catch  a  sufficient  number  of  our 
wild  animals  to  relieve  those  previously  packed. 

Under  the  shade  of  the  oaks,  along  the  river,  I  noticed  ero- 
dium  cicutarium  in  bloom,  eight  or  ten  inches  high.  This  is 
the  plant  which  we  had  seen  the  squaws  gathering  on  the  Rio 
de  los  Americanos.  By  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  it  is 
highly  esteemed  for  fattening  cattle,  which  appear  to  be  very 
fond  of  it.  Here,  where  the  soil  begins  to  be  sandy,  it  supplies 
to  a  considerable  extent  the  want  of  grass. 

Desirous,  as  far  as  possible,  without  delay,  to  include  in  our 
examination  the  San  Joaquin  river,  I  returned  this  morning 
down  the  Stanislaus  for  17  miles,  and  again  encamped  without 
having  found  a  fording-place.  After  following  it  for  eight 
miles  further  the  next  morning,  and  finding  ourselves  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  San  Joaquin,  encamped  in  a  handsome  oak  grove, 
and,  several  cattle  being  killed,  we  ferried  over  our  baggage 
in  their  skins.  Here  our  Indian  boy,  who  probably  had  not 
much  idea  of  where  he  was  going,  and  began  to  be  alarmed  at 
the  many  streams  which  we  were  rapidly  putting  between  him 
and  the  village,  deserted.  \ 

Thirteen  head  of  cattle  took  a  sudden  fright,  while  we  were 
driving  them  across  the  river,  and  galloped  off.  I  remained  a. 
day  in  the  endeavor  to  recover  them  ;  but,  finding  they  haa 
taken  the  trail  back  to  the  fort,  let  them  go  without  further  ef- 
fort. Here  we  had  several  days  of  warm  and  pleasant  rain, 
which  doubtless  saved  the  crops  below. 

V* 


360  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 


APRIL. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  we  made  10  miles  acioss  a  prairie  with- 
out timber,  when  we  were  stopped  again  by  another  large 
river,  which  is  called  the  Rio  de  la  Merced,  (river  of  our  Lady 
of  Mercy.)  Here  the  country  had  lost  its  character  of  ex- 
treme fertility,  the  soil  having  become  more  sandy  and  light ; 
but,  for  several  days  past,  its  beauty  had  been  increased  by 
the  additional  animation  of  animal  life ;  and  now,  it  is  crowded 
with  bands  of  elk  and  wild  horses ;  and  along  the  rivers  are 
frequent  fresh  tracks  of  grizzly  bear,  which  are  unusually 
numerous  in  this  country. 

Our  route  had  been  along  the  timber  of  the  San  Joaquin, 
generally  about  eight  miles  distant,  over  a  high  prairie. 

In  one  of  the  bands  of  elk  seen  to-day,  there  were  about  200 ; 
but  the  larger  bands,  both  of  these  and  wild  horses,  are  gener- 
ally found  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  which,  for  that  rea- 
son, I  avoided  crossing.  I  had  been  informed  below,  that  the 
droves  of  wild  horses  were  almost  invariably  found  on  the 
western  bank  of  the  river  ;  and  the  danger  of  losing  our  ani- 
mals among  them,  together"  with  the  wish  of  adding  to  our 
reconnoissance  the  numerous  streams  which  run  down  from  the 
Sierra,  decided  me  to  travel  up  the  eastern  bank. 

2d. — The  day  was  occupied  in  building  a  boat,  and  ferrying 
our  baggage  across  the  river ;  and  we  encamped  on  the  bank. 
A  large  fishing  eagle  was  slowly  sailing  along,  looking  after 
salmon ;  and  there  were  some  pretty  birds  in  the  timber,  with 
partridges,  ducks  and  geese  innumerable  in  the  neighborhood. 
We  were  struck  with  the  tameness  of  the  latter  bird  at  Helve- 
tia, scattered  about  in  flocks  near  the  wheat-fields,  and  eating 
grass  on  the  prairie ;  a  horseman  would  ride  by  within  30 
yards,  without  disturbing  them. 

3d. — To-day  we  touched  several  times  the  San  Joaquin  riv- 
er— here  a  fine-looking  tranquil  stream,  with  a  slight  current, 
and  apparently  deep.  It  resembled  the  Missouri  in  color,  with 
occasional  points  of  white  sand ;  and  its  banks,  where  steep, 
were  a  kind  of  sandy  clay ;  its  average  width  appeared  to  be 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  361 

about  eighty  yards.  In  the  bottoms  are  frequent  ponds,  where 
our  approach  disturbed  multitudes  of  wild  fowl,  principally 
geese.  Skirting  along  the  timber,  we  frequently  started  elk; 
and  large  bands  were  seen  during  the  day,  with  antelope  and 
wild  horses.  The  low  country  and  the  timber  rendered  it  diffi- 
cult to  keep  the  main  line  of  the  river;  and  this  evening  we 
encamped  on  a  tributary  stream,  about  five  miles  from  its 
mouth.  On  the  prairie  bordering  the  San  Joaquin  bottoms, 
there  occurred  during  the  day  but  little  grass,  and  in  its  place 
was  a  sparse  and  dwarf  growth  of  plants ;  the  soil  being  sandy, 
with  small  bare  places  and  hillocks,  reminded  me  much  of  the 
Platte  bottoms;  but,  on  approaching  the  timber,  we  found  a  more 
luxuriant  vegetation,  and  at  our  camp  was  an  abundance  of 
grass  and  pea-vines. 

The  foliage  of  the  oak  is  getting  darker ;  and  every  thing, 
except  that  the  weather  is  a  little  cool,  shows  that  spring 
is  rapidly  advancing ;  and  to-day  we  had  quite  a  summer 
rain. 

4th. — Commenced  to  rain  at  daylight,  but  cleared  off  brightly 
at  sunrise.  We  ferried  the  river  without  any  difficulty,  and 
continued  up  the  San  Joaquin.  Elk  were  running  in  bands 
over  the  prairie  and  in  the  skirt  of  the  timber.  We  reached 
the  river  at  the  mouth  of  a  large  slough,  which  we  were  unable 
to  ford,  and  made  a  circuit  of  several  miles  around.  Here  the 
country  appears  very  flat ;  oak-trees  have  entirely  disappeared, 
and  are  replaced  by  a  large  willow,  nearly  equal  to  it  in  size. 
The  river  is  about  a  hundred  yards  in  breadth,  branching  into 
sloughs,  and  interspersed  with  islands.  At  this  tinie  it  appears 
sufficiently  deep  for  a  small  steamer,  but  its  navigation  would 
be  broken  by  shallows  at  low  water.  Bearing  in  towards  the 
river,  we  were  again  forced  off  by  another  slough  ;  and  passing 
around,  steered  towards  a  clump  of  trees  on  the  river,  and  find- 
ing there  good  grass,  encamped.  The  prairies  along  the  left 
bank  are  alive  with  immense  droves  of  wild  horses ;  and  they 
had  been  seen  during  the  day  at  every  opening  through  the 
woods  which  afforded  us  a  view  across  the  river.  Latitude, 
by  observation,  37°  08'  00" ;  longitude  120°  45'  22". 

5th  — During  the  earlier  part  of  the  day's  ride,  the  country 
16 


362  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRII, 

presented  a  lacustrine  appearance ;  the  river  was  deep,  and 
nearly  on  a  level  with  the  surrounding  country ;  its  banks 
raised  like  a  levee,  and  fringed  with  willows.  Over  the  bor- 
dering plain  were  interspersed  spots  of  prairie  among  fields  of 
tule,  (bulrushes,)  which  in  this  country  are  called  tulares,  and 
little  ponds.  On  the  opposite  side,  a  line  of  timber  was  visible 
which,  according  to  information,  points  out  the  course  of  the 
slough,  which  at  times  of  high  water  connects  with  the  San 
Joaquin  river — a  large  body  of  water  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
valley,  called  the  Tule  lakes.  The  river  and  all  its  sloughs 
are  very  full,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  lake  is  now  discharg- 
ing. Here  elk  were  frequently  started,  and  one  was  shot  out 
of  a  band  which  ran  around  us.  On  our  left,  the  Sierra  main- 
tains its  snowy  height,  and  masses  of  snow  appear  to  descend 
very  low  towards  the  plains ;  probably  the  late  rains  in  the 
valley  were  snow  on  the  mountains.  We  traveled  37  miles, 
and  encamped  on  the  river.  Longitude  of  the  camp,  120°  28' 
34",  and  latitude,  36°  49'  12". 

6th. — After  having  traveled  fifteen  miles  along  the  river, 
we  made  an  early  halt,  under  the  shade  of  sycamore-trees 
Here  we  found  the  San  Joaquin  coining  down  from  the  Sierra 
with  a  westerly  course,  and  checking  our  way,  as  all  its  tribu- 
taries had  previously  done.  We  had  expected  to  raft  the  river; 
but  found  a  good  ford,  and  encamped  on  the  opposite  bank, 
where  droves  of  wild  horses  were  raising  clouds  of  dust  on  the 
prairie.  Columns  of  smoke  were  visible  in  the  direction  of  the 
Tule  lakes  to  the  southward — probably  kindled  in  the  tulares 
by  the  Indians,  as  signals  that  there  were  strangers  in  the  val- 
ley. 

We  made,  on  the  7th,  a  hard  march  in  a  cold  chilly  rain 
from  morning  until  night — the  weather  so  thick  that  we  travel- 
ed by  compass.  This  was  a  traverse  from  the  San  Joaquin  to 
the  waters  of  the  Tule  lakes,  and  our  road  was  over  a  very 
level  prairie  country.  We  saw  wolves  frequently  during  the 
day,  prowling  about  after  the  young  antelope,  which  cannot 
run  very  fast.  These  were  numerous  during  the  day,  and  two 
were  caught  by  the  people. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  discovered  timber,  which  was  found 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  363 

to  be  groves  of  oak-trees  on  a  dry  arroyo.  The  rain,  which 
had  fallen  in  frequent  showers,  poured  down  in  a  storm  at  sun- 
set, with  a  strong  wind,  which  swept  off  the  clouds,  and  left  a 
clear  sky.  Riding  on  through  the  timber,  about  dark  we  found 
abundant  water  in  small  ponds,  20  to  30  yards  in  diameter, 
with  clear  deep  water  and  sandy  beds,  bordered  with  bog  rush- 
es, (juncus  efusus,)  and  a  tall  rush  (scirpus  lacustris)  twelve 
feet  high,  and  surrounded  near  the  margin  with  willow-trees  in 
bloom  ;  among  them  one  which  resembled  salix  myricoides. 
The  oak  of  the  groves  was  the  same  already  mentioned,  with 
small  leaves,  in  form  like  those  of  the  white-oak,  and  forming, 
with  the  evergreen-oak,  the  characteristic  trees  of  the  valley 

8th. — After  a  ride  of  two  miles  through  brush  and  open 
groves,  we  reached  a  large  stream,  called  the  River  of  the 
Lake,  resembling  in  size  the  San  Joaquin,  and  being  about  100 
yards  broad.  This  is  the  principal  tributary  to  the  Tule  lakes, 
which  collect  all  the  waters  in  the  upper  part  of  the  valley. 
While  we  were  searching  for  a  ford,  some  Indians  appeared 
on  the  opposite  bank,  and  having  discovered  that  we  were  not 
Spanish  soldiers,  showed  us  the  way  to  a  good  ford  several 
miles  above. 

The  Indians  of  the  Sierra  make  frequent  descents  upon  the 
settlements  west  of  the  Coast  Range,  which  they  keep  constant- 
ly swept  of  horses ;  among  them  are  many  who  are  called 
Christian  Indians,  being  refugees  from  Spanish  missions.  Sev- 
eral of  these  incursions  occurred  while  we  were  at  Helvetia. 
Occasionally  parties  of  soldiers  follow  them  across  the  Coast 
Range,  but  never  enter  the  Sierra. 

On  the  opposite  side  we  found  some  forty  wfifty  Indians, 
*vho  had  come  to  meet  us  from  the  village  below.  We  made 
them  some  small  presents,  and  invited  them  to  our  encampment, 
which,  after  about  three  miles  through  fine  oak  groves,  we 
made  on  the  river.  We  made  a  fort,  principally  on  account 
of  our  animals.  The  Indians  brought  otter-skins,  and  several 
kinds  of  fish,  and  bread  made  of  acorns,  to  trade.  Among 
them  were  several  who  had  come  to  live  among  these  Indians 
when  the  missions  were  broken  up,  and  who  spoke  Spanish 
fluently.  They  informed  us  that  they  were  called  by  the 


364  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

Spaniards  mansitos,  (tame,)  in  distinction  from  the  wilder 
tribes  of  the  mountains.  They,  however,  think  themselves 
very  insecure,  not  knowing  at  what  unforeseen  moment  the 
sins  of  the  latter  may  be  visited  upon  them.  They  are  dark- 
skinned,  but  handsome  and  intelligent  Indians,  and  live  princi- 
pally on  acorns  and  the  roots  of  the  tule,  of  which  also  their 
huts  are  made. 

By  observation,  the  latitude  of  the  encampment  is  36°  24' 
50",  and  longitude  119°  41'  40". 

9th. — For  several  miles  we  had  very  bad  traveling  over 
what  is  called  rotten  ground,  in  which  the  horses  were  fre- 
quently up  to  their  knees.  Making  towards  a  line  of  timber, 
we  found  a  small  fordable  stream,  beyond  which  the  countiy 
improved,  and  the  grass  became  excellent;  and  crossing  a 
number  of  dry  and  timbered  arroyos,  we  traveled  until  late 
through  open  oak  groves,  and  encamped  among  a  collection  of 
streams.  These  were  running  among  rushes  and  willows ; 
and,  as  usual,  flocks  of  blackbirds  announced  our  approach  to 
water.  We  have  here  approached  considerably  nearer  to  the 
eastern  Sierra,  which  shows  very  plainly,  still  covered  with 
masses  of  snow,  which  yesterday  and  to-day  has  also  appeared 
abundant  on  the  Coast  Range. 

10th. — To-day  we  made  another  long  journey  of  about  forty 
miles,  through  a  country  uninteresting  and  flat,  with  very  little 
grass  and  a  sandy  soil,  in  which  several  branches  we  crossed 
had  lost  their  water.  In  the  evening  the  face  of  the  country 
became  hilly  ;  and,  turning  a  few  miles  up  towards  the  moun- 
tains, we  found  a  good  encampment  on  a  pretty  stream  hidden 
among  the  hills,  and  handsomely  timbered,  principally  with 
large  cottonwoods,  (populus,  differing  from  any  in  Michaux's 
Sylva.)  The  seed-vessels  of  this  tree  were  now  just  about 
bursting. 

Several  Indians  came  down  the  river  to  see  us  in  the  even 
ing ;  we  gave  them  supper,  and  cautioned  them  against  steal 
ing  our  horses ;  which  they  promised  not  to  attempt. 

llth. — A  broad  trail  along  the  river  here  takes  out  among 
the  hills.  "  Buen  camino,"  (good  road,)  said  one  of  the  In- 
dians,  of  whom  we  had  inquired  about  the  pass  ;  and,  follow- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  365 

ing  it  accordingly,  it  conducted  us  beautifully  through  a  very 
broken  country,  by  an  excellent  way,  which,  otherwise,  we 
should  have  found  extremely  bad.  Taken  separately,  the  hills 
present  smooth  and  graceful  outlines,  but,  together,  make  bad 
traveling  ground.  Instead  of  grass,  the  whole  face  of  the 
country  is  closely  covered  with  erodium  cicutarium,  here  only 
two  or  three  inches  high.  Its  height  and  beauty  varied  in  a 
remarkable  manner  with  the  locality,  being,  in  many  low  places 
which  we  passed  during  the  day,  around  streams  and  springs, 
two  and  three  feet  high.  The  country  had  now  assumed  a 
character  of  aridity ;  and  the  luxuriant  green  of  these  little 
streams,  wooded  with  willow,  oak,  or  sycamore,  looked  very 
refreshing  among  the  sandy  hills. 

In  the  evening  we  encamped  on  a  large  creek,  with  abundant 
water.  I  noticed  here  in  bloom,  for  the  first  time  since  leaving 
the  Arkansas  waters,  the  Miribilis  Jalapa. 

12th. — Along  our  road  to-day  the  country  was  altogether 
sandy,  and  vegetation  meager.  Ephedra  occidentalis,  which  we 
had  first  seen  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Pyramid  lake,  made 
its  appearance  here,  and  in  the  course  of  the  day  became 
very  abundant,  and  in  large  bushes.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
afternoon,  we  reached  a  tolerably  large  river,  which  empties 
into  a  small  lake  at  the  head  of  the  valley ;  it  is  about  thirty- 
five  yards  wide,  with  a  stony  and  gravelly  bed,  and  the 
swiftest  stream  we  have  crossed  since  leaving  the  bay.  The 
bottoms  produced  no  grass,  though  well  timbered  with  willow 
and  cottonwood  ;  and,  after  ascending  several  miles,  we 
made  a  late  encampment  on  a  little  bottom,  with  scanty  grass. 
In  greater  part,  the  vegetation  along  our  road  consisted  now 
of  rare  and  unusual  plants,  among  which  many  were  entirely 
new. 

Along  the  bottoms  were  thickets  consisting  of  several  varie- 
ties of  shrubs,  which  made  here  their  first  appearance ;  and 
among  these  was  Garrya  elliptica,  (Lindley,)  a  small  tree  be- 
longing  to  a  very  peculiar  natural  order,  and,  in  its  general 
appearance,  (growing  in  thickets,)  resembling  willow.  It  now 
became  common  along  the  streams,  frequently  supplying  the 
place  of  salix  longifolia. 


366  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

18th.— The  water  was  low,  and  a  few  miles  above  we  forded 
the  river  at  a  rapid,  and  marched  in  a  southeasterly  direction 
over  a  less  broken  country.  The  mountains  were  now  very 
near,  occasionally  looming  out  through  fog.  In  a  few  hours 
we  reached  the  bottom  of  a  creek  without  water,  over  which 
the  sandy  beds  were  dispersed  in  many  branches.  Immediately 
where  we  struck  it,  the  timber  terminated  ;  and  below,  to  the 
right,  it  was  a  broad  bed  of  dry  and  bare  sands.  There  were 
many  tracks  of  Indians  and  horses  imprinted  in  the  sana, 
which,  with  other  indications,  informed  us  was  the  creek  issu- 
ing from  the  pass,  and  which  we  have  called  Pass  creek.  We 
ascended  a  trail  for  a  few  miles  along  the  creek,  and  suddenly 
found  a  stream  of  water  five  feet  wide,  running  with  a  lively 
current,  but  losing  itself  almost  immediately.  This  little 
stream  showed  plainly  the  manner  in  which  the  mountain 
waters  lose  themselves  in  sand  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Sierra, 
leaving  only  a  parched  desert  and  arid  plains  beyond.  The 
stream  enlarged  rapidly,  and  the  timber  became  abundant  as 
we  ascended. 

A  new  species  of  pine  made  its  appearance,  with  several 
kinds  of  oaks,  and  a  variety  of  trees ;  and  the  country  chang- 
ing its  appearance  suddenly  and  entirely,  we  found  ourselves 
again  traveling  among  the  old  orchard-like  places.  Here  we 
selected  a  delightful  encampment  in  a  handsome  green  oak 
hollow,  where  among  the  open  bolls  of  the  trees  was  an  abun- 
dant sward  of  grass  and  pea- vines.  In  the  evening  a  Christian 
Indian  rode  into  the  camp,  well  dressed,  with  long  spurs,  and  a 
sombreo,  and  speaking  Spanish  fluently.  It  was  an  unexpected 
apparition,  and  a  strange  and  pleasant  sight  in  this  desolate 
gorge  of  a  mountain — an  Indian  face,  Spanish  costume,  jing- 
ling spurs,  and  horse  equipped  after  the  Spanish  manner.  He 
informed  me  that  he  belonged  to  one  of  the  Spanish  missions  to 
the  south,  distant  two  or  three  days'  ride,  and  that  he  had  ob- 
tained from  the  priests  leave  to  spend  a  few  days  with  his 
relations  in  the  Sierra.  Having  seen  us  enter  the  pass,  he  had 
come  down  to  visit  us.  He  appeared  familiarly  acquainted 
with  the  country,  and  gave  me  definite  and  clear  information 
in  regard  to  the  desert  region  east  of  the  mountains.  I  had 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  .  367 

entered  the  pass  with  a  strong  disposition  to  vary  my  route,  and 
to  travel  directly  across  towards  the  Great  Salt  lake,  in  the  view 
of  obtaining  some  a<:  [uaintance  with  the  interior  of  the  Great 
Basin,  while  pursuir  r  a  direct  course  for  the  frontier ;  but  his 
representation,  whic  *  described  it  as  an  arid  and  barren  desert, 
that  had  repulsed  by  its  sterility  all  the  attempts  of  the  Indians 
to  penetrate  it,  determined  me  for  the  present  to  relinquish  the 
plan,  and  agreeably  to  his  advice,  after  crossing  the  Sierra, 
continue  our  intended  route  along  its  eastern  base  to  the  Span- 
ish  trail.  By  this  route,  a  party  of  six  Indians,  who  had  come 
from  a  great  river  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  desert  to  trade 
with  his  people,  had  just  started  on  their  return.  He  would 
himself  return  the  next  day  to  San  Fernando,  and  as  our  roads 
would  be  the  same  for  two  days,  he  offered  his  services  to  con- 
duct us  so  far  on  our  way.  His  offer  was  gladly  accepted. 
The  fog  which  had  somewhat  interfered  with  views  in  the  val- 
ley, had  entirely  passed  off,  and  left  a  clear  sky.  That  which 
had  enveloped  us  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  pass  proceeded 
evidently  from  fires  kindled  among  the  tulares  by  Indians  living 
near  the  lakes,  and  which  were  intended  to  warn  those  in  the 
mountains  that  there  were  strangers  in  the  valley.  Our  posi- 
tion was  in  latitude  35°  IT  12",  and  longitude  118°  35'  03". 
14th. — Our  guide  joined  us  this  morning  on  the  trail ;  and, 
arriving  in  a  short  distance  at  an  open  bottom  where  the  creek 
forked,  we  continued  up  the  right-hand  branch,  which  was  en- 
riched by  a  profusion  of  flowers,  and  handsomely  wooded  with 
sycamore,  oaks,  cottonwood,  and  willow,  with  other  trees,  and 
some  shrubby  plants.  In  its  long  strings  of  balls,  this  sycamore 
differs  from  that  of  the  United  States,  and  is  the  platanus  occi- 
dentalus  of  Hooker — a  new  species  recently  described  among 
the  plants  collected  in  the  voyage  of  the  Sulphur.  The  cotton- 
wood  varied  its  foliage  with  white  tufts,  and  the  feathery  seeds 
were  flying  plentifully  through  the  air.  Gooseberries,  nearly 
ripe,  were  very  abundant  in  the  mountains ;  and  as  we  passed 
the  dividing  grounds,  which  were  not  very  easy  to  ascertain, 
the  air  was  filled  with  perfume,  as  if  we  were  entering  a 
highly  cultivated  garden ;  and,  instead  of  green,  our  pathway 
and  the  mountain  sides  were  covered  with  fields  of  yellow 


368  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [April, 

flowers,  which  here  was  the  prevailing  color.  Our  journey 
to-day  was  in  the  midst  of  an  advanced  spring,  whose  green 
and  floral  beauty  offered  a  delightful  contrast  to  the  sandy  val- 
ley we  had  just  left.  All  the  day,  snow  was  in  sight  on  the 
butte  of  the  mountain,  which  frowned  down  upon  us  on  the  right ; 
but  we  beheld  it  now  with  feelings  of  pleasant  security,  as  we 
rode  along  between  green  trees,. and  on  flowers,  with  humming- 
birds and  other  feathered  friends  of  the  traveler  enlivening 
the  serene  spring  air.  As  we  reached  the  summit  of  this 
beautiful  pass,  and  obtained  a  view  into  the  eastern  country, 
we  saw  at  once  that  here  was  the  place  to  take  leave  of  all 
such  pleasant  scenes  as  those  around  us.  The  distant  moun- 
tains were  now  bald  rocks  again,  and  below  the  land  had  any 
color  but  green.  Taking  into  consideration  the  nature  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  we  found  this  pass  an  excellent  one  for 
horses ;  and  with  a  little  labor,  or  perhaps  with  a  more  per- 
fect examination  of  the  localities,  it  might  be  made  sufficient- 
ly practicable  for  wagons.  Its  latitude  and  longitude  may 
be  considered  that  of  our  last  encampment,  only  a  few  miles 
distant.  The  elevation  was  not  taken — our  half-wild  caval- 
cade making  it  troublesome  to  halt  before  night,  when  once 
started. 

We  here  left  the  waters  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and, 
though  forced  upon  them  contrary  to  my  intentions,  I  cannot 
regret  the  necessity  which  occasioned  the  deviation.  It  made 
me  well  acquainted  with  the  great  range  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
of  the  Alta  California,  and  showed  that  this  broad  and  ele- 
vated snowy  ridge  was  a  continuation  of  the  Cascade  Range 
of  Oregon,  between  which  and  the  ocean  there  is  still  another 
and  a  lower  range,  parallel  to  the  former  and  to  the  coast,  and 
which  may  be  called  the  Coast  Range.  It  also  made  me  well 
acquainted  with  the  basin  of  the  San  Krancisco  bay,  and  with 
the  two  pretty  rivers  and  their  valleys  (the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin)  which  are  tributarv  to  that  bay,  and  cleared  up 
some  points  in  geography  on  which  error  had  long  prevailed. 
It  had  been  constantly  represented,  as  I  have  already  stated, 
that  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  opened  far  into  the  interior,  by 
some  river  coming  down  from  the  base  of  the  Rocky  moun- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  369 

tains,  and  upon  which  supposed  stream  the  name  of  Rio  Buena- 
ventura had  been  bestowed.  Our  observations  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  in  the  long  distance  from  the  head  of  the  Sacramento, 
to  the  head  of  the  San  Joaquin,  and  of  the  valley  below  it, 
which  collects  all  the  waters  of  the  San  Francisco  bay,  show 
that  this  neither  is  nor  can  be  the  case.  No  river  from  the 
interior  does,  or  can,  cross  the  Sierra  Nevada — itself  more 
lofty  than  the  Rocky  mountains ;  and  as  to  the  Buenaventura, 
the  mouth  of  which  seen  on  the  coast  gave  the  idea  and  the 
name  of  the  reputed  great  river,  it  is,  in  fact,  a  small  stream 
of  no  consequence,  not  only  below  the  Sierra  Nevada,  but 
actually  below  the  Coast  Range — taking  its  rise  within  half  a 
degree  of  the  ocean,  running  parallel  to  it  for  about  two  de- 
grees, and  then  falling  into  the  Pacific  near  Monterey.  There 
is  no  opening  from  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  into  the  interior 
of  the  continent.  The  two  rivers  which  flow  into  it  are  com- 
paratively short,  and  not  perpendicular  to  the  coast,  but  lateral 
to  it,  and  having  their  heads  towards  Oregon  and  southern 
California.  They  open  lines  of  communication  north  and 
south,  and  not  eastwardly  ;  and  thus  this  want  of  interior  com- 
munication  from  the  San  Francisco  bay,  now  fully  ascertained, 
gives  great  additional  value  to  the  Columbia,  which  stands 
alone  as  the  only  great  river  on  the  Pacific  slope  of  our  conti- 
nent which  leads  from  the  ocean  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  and 
opens  a  line  of  communication  from  the  sea  to  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi. 

Four  c&mpaneros  joined  our  guide  at  the  pass ;  and  two  go- 
ing back  at  noon,  the  others  continued  on  in  company.  De- 
scending from  the  hills,  we  reached  a  country  of  fine  grass, 
where  the  erodium  cicutarium  finally  disappeared,  giving  place 
to  an  excellent  quality  of  bunch-grass.  Passing  by  some 
springs  where  there  was  a  rich  sward  of  grass  among  groves 
of  large  black-oak,  we  rode  over  a  plain  on  which  the  guide 
pointed  out  a  spot  where  a  refugee  Christian  Indian  had  been 
killed  by  a  party  of  soldiers  which  had  unexpectedly  pene- 
trated into  the  mountains.  Crossing  a  low  sierra,  and  descend, 
ing  a  hollow  where  a  spring  gushed  out,  we  were  struck  by 
the  sudden  appearance  of  yucca  trees,  which  gave  a  strange 
16* 


370  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

and  southern  character  to  the  country,  and  suited  well  with  the 
dry  and  desert  region  we  were  approaching.  Associated  with 
the  idea  of  barren  sands,  their  stiff  and  ungraceful  form  makes 
them  to  the  traveler  the  most  repulsive  tree  in  the  vegetable 
kingdom.  Following  the  hollow,  we  shortly  came  upon  a 
creek  timbered  with  large  black-oak,  which  yet  had  not  put 
forth  a  leaf.  There  was  a  small  rivulet  of  running  water,  with 
good  grass. 

15th. — The  Indians  who  had  accompanied  the  guide  return, 
ed  this  morning,  and  I  purchased  from  them  a  Spanish  saddle 
and  long  spurs,  as  reminiscences  of  the  time  ;  and  for  a  few 
yards  of  scarlet  cloth  they  gave  me  a  horse,  which  afterwards 
became  food  for  other  Indians. 

We  continued  a  short  distance  down  the  creek,  in  which  our 
guide  informed  us  that  the  water  very  soon  disappeared,  and 
turned  directly  to  the  southward  along  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain ;  the  trail  on  which  we  rode  appearing  to  describe  the 
eastern  limit  of  travel,  where  water  and  grass  terminated. 
Crossing  a  low  spur,  which  bordered  the  creek,  we  descended 
to  a  kind  of  plain  among  the  lower  spurs,  the  desert  being  in 
full  view  on  our  left,  apparently  illimitable.  A  hot  mist  lay 
over  it  to-day,  through  which  it  had  a  white  and  glistening  ap- 
pearance ;  here  and  there  a  few  dry-looking  buttes  and  isolated 
black  ridges  rose  suddenly  upon  it.  "  There,"  said  our  guide, 
stretching  out  his  hand  towards  it,  "  there  are  the  great  llanos, 
(plains,)  no  hay  agua  ;  no  hay  zacate — nada  :  there  is  neithel 
water  nor  grass — nothing  ;  every  animal  that  goes  upon  them, 
dies."  It  was  indeed  dismal  to  look  upon,  and  to  conceive  so 
great  a  change  in  so  short  a  distance.  One  might  travel  the 
world  over,  without  finding  a  valley  more  fresh  and  verdant — 
more  floral  and  sylvan — more  alive  with  birds  and  animals — 
more  bounteously  watered — than  we  had  left  in  the  San  Joa- 
quin  :  here,  within  a  few  miles'  ride,  a  vast  desert  plain 
spread  before  us,  from  which  the  boldest  traveler  turned  away 
in  despair. 

Directly  in  front  of  us,  at  some  distance  to  the  southward, 
and  running  out  in  an  easterly  direction  from  the  mountains, 
stretched  a  sierra,  having  at  the  eastern  end  (perhaps  50  miles 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  871 

distant)  some  snowy  peaks,  on  which,  by  the  information  of 
our  guide,  snow  rested  all  the  year. 

Our  cavalcade  made  a  strange  and  grotesque  appearance  ; 
and  it  was  impossible  to  avoid  reflecting  upon  our  position  and 
composition  in  this  remote  solitude.  Within  two  degrees  of 
the  Pacific  ocean — already  far  south  of  the  latitude  of  Monte- 
rey— and  still  forced  on  south  by  a  desert  on  one  hand,  and  a 
mountain  range  on  the  other — guided  by  a  civilized  Indian, 
attended  by  two  wild  ones  from  the  Sierra — a  Chinook  from 
the  Columbia,  and  our  mixture  of  American,  French,  German 
— all  armed — four  or  five  languages  heard  at  once — above  a 
hundred  horses  and  mules,  half  wild — American,  Spanish,  and 
Indian  dresses  and  equipments  intermingled — such  was  our 
composition.  Our  march  was  a  sort  of  procession.  Scouts 
ahead  and  on  the  flanks  ;  a  front  and  rear  division  ;  the  pack- 
animals,  baggage,  and  horned-cattle  in  the  centre ;  and  the 
whole  stretching  a  quarter  of  a  mile  along  our  dreary  path. 
In  this  form  we  journeyed,  looking  more  as  if  we  belonged  to 
Asia  than  to  the  United  States  of  America. 

We  continued  in  a  southerly  direction  across  the  plain,  to 
vhich,  as  well  as  to  all  the  country,  so  far  as  we  could  see, 
the  yucca  trees  gave  a  strange  and  singular  character.  Several 
new  plants  appeared,  among  which  was  a  zygophyllaceous 
shrub,  (zygophyllum  Californicum,  Torr.  and  Frem.,)  some- 
times ten  feet  in  height ;  in  form,  and  in  the  pliancy  of  its 
branches,  it  is  rather  a  graceful  plant.  Its  leaves  are  small, 
covered  with  a  resinous  substance  ;  and,  particularly  when 
bruised  and  crushed,  exhale  a  singular  but  very  agreeable  and 
refreshing  odor.  This  shrub  and  the  yucca,  with  many  varie- 
ties of  cactus,  make  the  characteristic  features  in  the  vegeta- 
tion for  a  long  distance  to  the  eastward.  Along  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  20  miles  to  the  southward,  red  stripes  of  flowers 
were  visible  during  the  morning,  which  we  supposed  to  be  va- 
riegated sandstones.  We  rode  rapidly  during  the  day,  and  in 
the  afternoon  emerged  from  the  yucca  forest  at  the  foot  of  an 
outlier  of  the  Sierra  before  us,  and  came  among  the  fields  of 
flowers  we  had  seen  in  the  morning,  which  consisted  princi- 
oally  of  the  rich  orange-colored  California  poppy,  mingled  with 


372  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

other  flowers  of  brighter  tints.  Reaching  the  top  of  the  spur, 
which  was  covered  with  fine  bunch-grass,  and  where  the  hills 
were  veiy  green,  our  guide  pointed  to  a  small  hollow  in  the 
mountain  before  us,  saying,  "  a  este  piedra  hay  agua."  He 
appeared  to  know  every  nook  in  the  country.  We  continued 
our  beautiful  road,  and  reached  a  spring  in  the  slope  at  the 
foot  of  the  ridge,  running  in  a  green  ravine,  among  granite 
boulders ;  here  nightshade,  and  borders  of  buckwheat,  with 
their  white  blossoms  around  the  granite  rocks,  attracted  our 
notice  as  familiar  plants.  Several  antelopes  were  seen  among 
the  hills,  and  some  large  hares.  Men  were  sent  back  this 
evening  in  search  of  a  wild  mule  with  a  valuable  pack, 
which  had  managed  (as  they  frequently  do)  to  hide  itself  along 
the  road. 

By  observation,  the  latitude  of  the  camp  is  34°  41'  42", 
and  longitude  118°  20'  00".  The  next  day  the  men  returned 
with  the  mule. 

17th. — Crossing  the  ridge  by  a  beautiful  pass  of  hollows, 
where  several  deer  broke  out  of  the  thickets,  we  emerged  at  a 
small  salt  lake  in  a  vallon  lying  nearly  east  and  west,  where  a 
trail  from  the  mission  of  San  Buenaventura  comes  in.  The 
lake  is  about  1,200  yards  in  diameter;  surrounded  on  the 
margin  by  a  white  salty  border,  which,  by  the  smell,  reminded 
us  slightly  of  Lake  Abert.  There  are  some  cottonwoods,  with 
willow  and  elder,  around  the  lake  ;  and  the  water  is  a  little 
salt,  although  not  entirely  unfit  for  drinking.  Here  we  turned 
directly  to  the  eastward  along  the  trail,  which,  from  being  sel- 
dom used,  is  almost  imperceptible ;  and,  after  traveling  a  few 
miles,  our  guide  halted,  and,  pointing  to  the  hardly  visible  trail, 
"  aqui  es  camino,"  said  he,  "  no  se  pierde — va  siempre"  He 
pointed  out  a  black  butte  on  the  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, where  we  would  find  water  to  encamp  at  night ;  and, 
giving  him  a  present  of  knives  and  scarlet  cloth,  we  shook 
hands  and  parted.  He  bore  off  south,  and  in  a  day's  ride 
would  arrive  at  San  Fernando,  one  of  several  missions  in  this 
part  of  California,  where  the  country  is  so  beautiful  that  it  is 
considered  a  paradise,  and  the  name  of  its  principal  town 
(Pueblo,  de  las  Angeles]  would  make  it  angelic.  We  con- 


1844. J  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  373 

tinued  on  through  a  succession  of  valleys,  and  came  into  a 
most  beautiful  spot  of  flower  fields ;  instead  of  green,  the  hills 
were  purple  and  orange,  with  unbroken  beds,  into  which  each 
color  was  separately  gathered.  A  pale  straw-color,  with  a 
bright  yellow,  the  rich  red  orange  of  the  poppy  mingled  with 
fields  of  purple,  covered  the  spot  with  a  floral  beauty ;  and, 
on  the  border  of  the  sandy  deserts,  seemed  to  invite  the 
traveler  to  go  no  farther.  Riding  along  through  the  per- 
fumed air,  we  soon  after  entered  a  defile  overgrown  with  the 
ominous  artemisia  tridentata,  which  conducted  us  into  a  sandy 
plain  covered  more  or  less  densely  with  forests  of  yucca. 

Having  now  the  snowy  ridge  on  our  right,  we  continued  oui 
way  towards  a  dark  lutte,  belonging  to  a  low  sierra  on  the 
plain,  and  which  our  guide  had  pointed  out  for  a  landmark. 
Late  in  the  day,  the  familiar  growth  of  cottonwood,  a  line  of 
which  was  visible  ahead,  indicated  our  approach  to  a  creek, 
which  we  reached  where  the  water  spread  out  into  sands,  and 
a  little  below  sank  entirely.  Here  our  guide  had  intended  we 
should  pass  the  night ;  but  there  was  not  a  blade  of  grass,  and, 
hoping  to  find  nearer  the  mountain  a  little  for  the  night,  we 
turned  up  the  stream.  A  hundred  yards  above,  we  found  the 
creek  a  fine  stream,  sixteen  feet  wide,  with  a  swift  current. 
A  dark  night  overtook  us  when  we  reached  the  hills  at  the 
foot  of  the  ridge,  and  we  were  obliged  to  encamp  without 
grass ;  tying  up  what  animals  we  could  secure  in  the  dark- 
ness, the  greater  part  of  the  wild  ones  having  free  range  for 
the  night.  Here  the  stream  was  two  feet  deep,  swift  and 
clear,  issuing  from  a  neighboring  snow  peak.  A  few  miles 
before  reaching  this  creek,  we  had  crossed  a  broad  dry  river- 
bed, which,  nearer  the  hills,  the  hunters  had  found  a  bold  and 
handsome  stream. 

18th. — Some  parties  were  engaged  in  hunting  up  the  scat- 
tered horses,  and  others  in  searching  for  grass  above ;  both 
were  successful,  and  late  in  the  day  we  encamped  among  some 
spring-heads  of  the  river,  in  a  hollow  which  was  covered  with 
only  tolerably  good  grasses,  the  lower  ground  being  entirely 
overgrown  with  large  bunches  of  the  coarse  stiff  grass,  (care* 
ftichensis.) 

•<|     :*i>     Ui.-..4      '     -      ''<     "••• 


374  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

Our  latitude,  by  observation,  was  34°  27'  03",  and  longi- 
tude 117°  13'  00". 

Traveling  close  along  the  mountain,  we  followed  up,  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  19th,  another  stream,  in  hopes  to  find  a  grass- 
patch  like  that,  of  the  previous  day,  but  were  deceived  ;  except 
some  scattered  bunch-grass,  there  was  nothing  but  rock  and 
sand ;  and  even  the  fertility  of  the  mountain  seemed  withered 
by  the  air  of  the  desert.  Among  the  few  trees  was  the  nut 
pine,  (pinus  monophyllus.) 

Our  road  the  next  day  was  still  in  an  easterly  direction  along 
the  ridge,  over  very  bad  traveling  ground,  broken  and  con- 
founded with  crippled  trees  and  shrubs;  and,  after  a  difficult 
march  of  eighteen  miles,  a  general  shout  announced  that  we 
had  struck  the  great  object  of  our  search — THE  SPANISH  TRAIL 
— which  here  was  running  directly  north.  The  road  itself, 
and  its  course,  were  equally  happy  discoveries  to  us.  Since 
the  middle  of  December  we  had  continually  been  forced  south 
by  mountains  and  by  deserts,  and  now  would  have  to  make  six 
degrees  of  northing,  to  regain  the  latitude  on  which  we  wished 
to  cross  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  course  of  the  road,  there- 
fore, was  what  we  wanted ;  and,  once  more,  we  felt  like  going 
homewards.  A  road  to  travel  on,  and  the  right  course  to  go, 
were  joyful  consolations  to  us;  and  our  animals  enjoyed  the 
beaten  track  like  ourselves.  Relieved  from  the  rocks  and 
brush,  our  wild  mules  started  off  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  in  fifteen 
miles  we  reached  a  considerable  river,  timbered  with  cotton- 
wood  and  willow,  where  we  found  a  bottom  of  tolerable  grass. 
As  the  animals  had  suffered  a  great  deal  in  the  last  few  days, 
I  remained  here  all  next  day,  to  allow  them  the  necessary  re- 
pose ;  and  it  was  now  necessary,  at  every  favorable  place,  to 
make  a  little  halt.  Between  us  and  the  Colorado  river  we  were 
aware  that  the  country  was  extremely  poor  in  grass,  and  scarce 
for  water,  there  being  many  jornadas,  (days'  journey,)  or  long 
stretches  of  forty  to  sixty  miles,  without  water,  where  the  road 
was  marked  by  bones  of  animals. 

Although  in  California  we  had  met  with  people  who  had 
passed  over  this  trail,  we  had  been  able  to  obtain  no  correct 
information  about  it ;  and  the  greater  part  of  what  we  had 


1344.]  cAi'T.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  375 

heard  was  found  to  be  only  a  tissue  of  falsehoods.  The  rivers 
that  we  found  on  it  were  never  mentioned,  and  others,  particu- 
larly described  in  name  and  locality,  were  subsequently  seen 
in  another  part  of  the  country.  It  was  described  as  a  tolera- 
bly good  sandy  road,  with  so  little  rock  as  scarcely  to  require 
the  animals  to  be  shod;  and  we  found  it  the  roughest  and 
rockiest  road  we  had  ever  seen  in  the  country,  and  which 
nearly  destroyed  our  band  of  fine  mules  and  horses.  Many 
animals  are  destroyed  on  it  every  year  by  a  disease  called  the 
foot-evil ;  and  a  traveler  should  never  venture  on  it  without 
having  his  animals  well  shod,  and  also  carrying  extra  shoes. 

Latitude  34°  34'  11"  ;  and  longitude  117°  13'  00". 

The  morning  of  the  22d  was  clear  and  bright,  and  a  snowy 
peak  to  the  southward  shone  out  high  and  sharply  denned.  As 
has  been  usual  since  we  crossed  the  mountains  and  descended 
into  the  hot  plains,  we  had  a  gale  of  wind.  We  traveled  down 
the  right  bank  of  the  stream,  over  sands  which  are  somewhat 
loose,  and  have  no  verdure,  but  are  occupied  by  various  shrubs. 
A  clear  bold  stream,  60  feet  wide,  and  several  feet  deep,  had  a 
strange  appearance,  running  between  perfectly  naked  banks 
of  sand.  The  eye,  however,  is  somewhat  relieved  by  willows, 
and  the  beautiful  green  of  the  sweet  cottonwoods  with  which 
it  is  well  wooded.  As  we  followed  along  its  course,  the  river, 
instead  of  growing  constantly  larger,  gradually  dwindled  away, 
as  it  was  absorbed  by  the  sand.  We  were  now  careful  to  take 
the  old  camping-places  of  the  annual  Santa  Fe  caravans, 
which,  luckily  for  us,  had  not  yet  made  their  yearly  passage. 
A  drove  of  several  thousand  horses  and  mules  would  entirely 
have  swept  away  the  scanty  grass  at  the  watering  places,  and 
we  should  have  been  obliged  to  leave  the  road  to  obtain  sub- 
sistence for  our  animals.  After  riding  20  miles  in  a  north- 
easterly  direction,  we  found  an  old  encampment,  where  we 
halted. 

By  observation,  the  elevation  of  this  encampment  is  2,250 
feet. 

23d. — The  trail  followed  still  along  the  river,  which,  in  the 
course  of  the  morning,  entirely  disappeared.  We  continued 
along  the  dry  bed,  in  which,  after  an  interval  of  about  16 


376  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

miles,  the  water  reappeared  in  some  low  places,  well  timbered 
with  cottonwood  and  willow,  where  was  another  of  the  cus- 
tomary camping-grounds.  Here  a  party  of  six  Indians  came 
into  camp,  poor  and  hungry,  and  quite  in  keeping  with  the 
character  of  the  country.  Their  arms  were  bows  of  unusual 
length,  and  each  had  a  large  gourd,  strengthened  with  meshes 
of  cord,  in  which  he  carried  water.  They  proved  to  be  the 
Mohahve  Indians  mentioned  by  our  recent  guide ;  and  from 
one  of  them,  who  spoke  Spanish  fluently,  I  obtained  some  in- 
teresting information,  which  I  would  be  glad  to  introduce  here. 
An  account  of  the  people  inhabiting  this  region  would  un- 
doubtedly possess  interest  for  the  civilized  world.  Our  jour- 
ney homewards  was  fruitful  in  incident ;  and  the  country 
through  which  we  traveled,  although  a  desert,  afforded  much 
to  excite  the  curiosity  of  the  botanist ;  but  limited  time,  and 
the  rapidly  advancing  season  for  active  operations,  oblige  me 
to  omit  all  extended  descriptions,  and  hurry  briefly  to  the  con- 
clusion of  this  report. 

The  Indian  who  spoke  Spanish  had  been  educated  for  a 
number  of  years  at  one  of  the  Spanish  missions,  and,  at  the 
breaking  up  of  those  establishments,  had  returned  to  the  moun- 
tains, where  he  had  been  found  by  a  party  of  Mohahve  (some- 
times called  Amuchaba)  Indians,  among  whom  he  had  ever 
since  resided. 

He  spoke  of  the  leader  of  the  present  party  as  "mi  amo," 
(my  master.)  He  said  they  lived  upon  a  large  river  in  the 
southeast,  which  the  "soldiers  called  the  Rio  Colorado;"  but 
that,  formerly,  a  portion  of  them  lived  upon  this  river,  and 
among  the  mountains  which  had  bounded  the  river  valley  to  the 
northward  during  the  day,  and  that  here  along  the  river  they 
had  raised  various  kinds  of  melons.  They  sometimes  came 
over  to  trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  Sierra,  bringing  with 
them  blankets  and  goods  manufactured  by  the  Monquis  and 
other  Colorado  Indians.  They  rarely  carried  home  horses,  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  them  across  the  desert,  and 
of  guarding  them  afterwards  from  the  Pa-utah  Indians,  who 
inhabit  the  Sierra,  at  the  head  of  the  Rio  Virgen,  (river  of  the 
Virgin. 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  377 

He  informed  us  that,  a  short  distance  below,  this  river 
finally  disappeared.  The  two  different  portions  in  which  wa- 
ter is  found  had  received  from  the  priests  two  different  names  ; 
and  subsequently  I  heard  it  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  Rio 
de  las  Animaj,  but  on  the  map  we  have  called  it  the  Mohahve 
river. 

24th. — We  continued  down  the  stream  (or  rather  its  bed) 
for  about  eight  miles,  where  there  was  water  still  in  several 
holes,  and  encamped.  The  caravans  sometimes  continued  be- 
low, to  the  end  of  the  river,  from  which  there  is  a  very  long 
Jornada  of  perhaps  60  miles,  without  water.  Here  a  singular 
and  new  species  of  acacia,  with  spiral  pods  or  seed-vessels, 
made  its  first  appearance  ;  becoming  henceforward,  for  a  con- 
siderable distance,  the  characteristic  tree.  It  was  here  com- 
paratively large,  being  about  20  feet  in  height,  with  a  full 
and  spreading  top,  the  lower  branches  declining  towards  the 
ground.  It  afterwards  occurred  of  smaller  size,  frequently  in 
groves,  and  is  very  fragrant.  It  has  been  called  by  Dr.  Tor- 
rey,  spirolobium  odoratum.  The  zygophyllaceous  shrub  had 
been  constantly  characteristic  of  the  plains  along  the  river ; 
and  here,  among  many  new  plants,  a  new  and  very  remarka- 
ble species  of  eriogonum  (eriogomtm  inflatum,  Tor.  &  Frem.) 
made  its  first  appearance. 

Our  cattle  had  become  so  tired  and  poor  by  this  fatiguing 
traveling,  that  three  of  them  were  killed  here,  and  the  meat 
dried.  The  Indians  had  now  an  occasion  for  a  great  feast, 
and  were  occupied  the  remainder  of  the  day  and  all  night  iu 
cooking  and  eating.  There  was  no  part  of  the  animal  for 
which  they  did  not  find  some  use,  except  the  bones.  In  the 
afternoon  we  were  surprised  by  the  sudden  appearance  in  the 
camp  of  two  Mexicans — a  man  and  a  boy.  The  name  of  the 
man  was  Andreas  Fuentes  ;  and  that  of  the  boy,  (a  handsome 
lad,  11  years  old,)  Pablo  Hernandez.  They  belonged  to  a 
party  consisting  of  six  persons,  the  remaining  four  being  the 
wife  of  Fuentes,  and  the  father  and  mother  of  Pablo,  and  San- 
tiago Giacome,  a  resident  of  New  Mexico.  With  a  cavalcade 
of  about  thirty  horses,  they  had  come  out  from  Peubla  de  los 
Auj'eles,  near  the  coast,  under  the  guidance  of  Giacome,  in 


878  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

advance  of  the  great  caravan,  in  order  to  travel  more  at  leis- 
ure, and  obtain  better  grass.  Having  advanced  as  far  into  the 
desert  as  was  considered  consistent  with  their  safety,  they 
halted  at  the  Archilette,  one  of  the  customary  camping-grounds, 
about  80  miles  from  our  encampment,  where  there  is  a  spring 
of  good  water,  with  sufficient  grass ;  and  concluded  to  await 
there  the  arrival  of  the  great  caravan.  Several  Indians  were 
soon  discovered  lurking  about  the  camp,  who,  in  a  day  or  two 
after,  came  in,  and,  after  behaving  in  a  very  friendly  manner, 
took  their  leave,  without  awakening  any  suspicions.  Their 
deportment  begat  a  security  which  proved  fatal.  In  a  few 
days  afterwards,  suddenly  a  party  of  about  one  hundred  In- 
dians appeared  in  sight,  advancing  towards  the  camp.  It  was 
too  late,  or  they  seemed  not  to  have  presence  of  mind  to  take 
proper  measures  of  safety  ;  and  the  Indians  charged  down  into 
their  camp,  shouting  as  they  advanced,  and  discharging  flights 
of  arrows.  Pablo  and  Fuentes  were  on  horse-guard  at  the 
time,  and  mounted  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country. 
One  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  Indians  was  to  get  posses- 
sion of  the  horses,  and  part  of  them  immediately  surrounded 
the  band ;  but,  in  obedience  to  the  .shouts  of  Giacome,  Feun- 
tes  drove  the  animals  over  and  through  the  assailants,  in  spite 
of  their  arrows ;  and,  abandoning  the  rest  to  their  fate,  carried 
them  off  at  speed  across  the  plain.  Knowing  that  they  would 
be  pursued  by  the  Indians,  without  making  any  halt  except  to 
shift  their  saddles  to  other  horses,  they  drove  them  on  for 
about  sixty  miles,  and  this  morning  left  them  at  a  watering- 
place  on  the  trail,  called  Agua  de  Tomaso.  Without  giving 
themselves  any  time  for  rest,  they  hurried  on,  hoping  to  meet 
the  Spanish  caravan,  when  they  discovered  my  camp.  I  re- 
ceived them  kindly,  taking  them  into  my  own  mess,  and  pro- 
mised them  such  aid  as  circumstances  might  put  it  in  my 
power  to  give. 

25th. — We  left  the  river  abruptly,  and,  turning  to  the  north, 
regained  in  a  few  miles  the  main  trail,  (which  had  left  the 
river  sooner  than  ourselves,)  and  continued  our  way  across  a 
lower  ridge  of  the  mountain,  through  a  miserable  tract  of  sand 
and  gravel.  We  crossed  at  intervals  the  broad  beds  of  dry 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  379 

gullies,  where  in  the  seasons  of  rains  and  melting  snows  there 
would  be  brooks  or  rivulets :  «nd  at  one  of  these,  where  there 
was  no  indication  of  water,  were  several  freshly-dug  holes,  in 
which  there  was  water  at  the  depth  of  two  feet.  These  holes 
had  been  dug  by  the  wolves,  whose  keen  sense  of  smell  had 
scented  the  water  under  the  dry  sand.  They  were  nice  little 
wells,  narrow,  and  dug  straight  down ;  and  we  got  pleasant 
water  out  of  them. 

The  country  had  now  assumed  the  character  of  an  elevated 
and  mountainous  desert ;  its  general  features  being  black, 
rocky  ridges,  bald,  and  destitute  of  timber,  with  sandy  basins 
between.  Where  the  sides  of  these  ridges  are  washed  by  gul- 
lies, the  plains  below  are  strewed  with  beds  of  large  pebbles  or 
rolled  stones,  destructive  to  our  soft-footed  animals,  accustomed 
to  the  soft  plains  of  the  Sacramento  valley.  Through  these 
sandy  basins  sometimes  struggled  a  scanty  stream,  or  occurred 
a  hole  of  water,  which  furnished  camping-grounds  for  travelers. 
Frequently  in  our  journey  across,  snow  was  visible  on  the  sur- 
rounding mountains  ;  but  their  waters  rarely  reached  the  sandy 
plain  below,  where  we  toiled  along,  oppressed  with  thirst  and 
a  burning  sun.  But,  throughout  this  nakedness  of  sand  and 
gravel,  were  many  beautiful  plants  and  flowering  shrubs,  which 
occurred  in  many  new  species,  and  with  greater  variety  than 
we  had  been  accustomed  to  see  in  the  most  luxuriant  prairie 
countries  ;  this  was  a  peculiarity  of  this  desert.  Even  where 
no  grass  would  take  root,  the  naked  sand  would  bloom  with 
some  rich  and  rare  flower,  which  found  its  appropriate  home  in 
the  arid  and  barren  spot. 

Scattered  over  the  plain,  and  tolerably  abundant,  was  a  hand- 
some leguminous  shrub,  three  or  four  feet  high,  with  fine  bright 
purple  flowers.  It  is  a  new  psoraka,  and  occurred  frequently 
henceforward  along  our  road. 

Beyond  the  first  ridge,  our  road  bore  a  little  to  the  east  of 
north,  towards  a  gap  in  a  higher  line  of  mountains ;  and,  after 
traveling  about  25  miles,  we  arrived  at  the  Agua  de  Tomaso — 
the  spring  where  the  horses  had  been  left ;  but,  as  we  expected, 
they  were  gone.  A  brief  examination  of  the  ground  convinced 
us  that  they  had  been  driven  off  by  the  Indians.  Carson  and 


380  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

Godey  volunteered,  with  the  Mexican,  to  pursue  them ;  and, 
well  mounted,  the  three  set  off  on  the  trail.  At  this  stopping- 
place  there  are  a  few  bushes,  and  a  very  little  grass.  Its 
water  was  a  pool ;  but  near  by  was  a  spring,  which  had  been 
dug  out  by  Indians  or  travelers.  Its  water  was  cool — a  great 
refreshment  to  us  under  a  burning  sun. 

In  the  evening  Fuentes  returned,  his  horse  having  failed ; 
but  Carson  and  Godey  had  continued  the  pursuit. 

I  observed  to-night  an  occultation  of  a2  Cancri,  at  the  dark 
limb  of  the  moon,  which  gives  for  the  longitude  of  the  place 
116°  23'  28";  the  latitude,  by  observation,  is  35°  13'  08". 
From  Helvetia  to  this  place,  the  positions  along  the  intervening 
line  are  laid  down,  with  the  longitudes  obtained  from  the  chro- 
nometer, which  appears  to  have  retained  its  rate  remarkably 
well ;  but  henceforward,  to  the  end  of  our  journey,  the  few 
longitudes  given  are  absolute,  depending  upon  a  subsequent 
occultation  and  eclipses  of  the  satellites. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day,  a  war-whoop  was  heard, 
such  as  Indians  make  when  returning  from  a  victorious  enter- 
prise ;  and  soon  Carson  and  Godey  appeared,  driving  before 
them  a  band  of  horses,  recognised  by  Fuentes  to  be  part  of 
those  they  had  lost.  Two  bloody  scalps,  dangling  from  the 
end  of  Godey's  gun,  announced  that  they  had  overtaken  the  In- 
dians as  well  as  the  horses.  They  informed  us,  that  after 
Fuentes  left  them,  from  the  failure  of  his  horse,  they  continued 
the  pursuit  alone,  and  towards  night-fall  entered  the  mountains, 
into  which  the  trail  led.  After  sunset  the  moon  gave  light, 
and  they  followed  the  trail  by  moonshine  until  late  in  the  night, 
when  it  entered  a  narrow  defile,  and  was  difficult  to  follow. 
Afraid  of  losing  it  in  the  darkness  of  the  defile,  they  tied  up 
their  horses,  struck  no  fire,  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  in  silence 
and  in  darkness.  Here  they  lay  from  midnight  until  morning. 
At  daylight  they  resumed  the  pursuit,  and  about  sunrise  dis- 
covered the  horses ;  and,  immediately  dismounting  and  tying 
up  their  own,  they  crept  cautiously  to  a  rising  ground  which 
intervened,  from  the  crest  of  which  they  perceived  the  encamp, 
ment  of  four  lodges  close  by.  They  proceeded  quietly,  and 
had  got  within  30  or  40  yards  of  their  object,  when  a  move- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  381 

ment  among  the  horses  discovered  them  to  the  Indians.  Giving 
the  war-shout,  they  instantly  charged  into  the  camp,  regardless 
of  the  number  which  the  four  lodges  would  imply.  The  In- 
dians received  them  with  a  flight  of  arrows  shot  from  their  long- 
bows, one  of  which  passed  through  Godey's  shirt-collar,  barely 
missing  the  neck  :  our  men  fired  their  rifles  upon  a  steady  aim, 
and  rushed  in.  Two  Indians  were  stretched  upon  the  ground, 
fatally  pierced  with  bullets :  the  rest  fled,  except  a  little  lad 
that  was  captured.  The  scalps  of  the  fallen  were  instantly 
stripped  off;  but  in  the  process,  one  of  them,  who  had  two  balls 
through  his  body,  sprang  to  his  feet,  the  blood  streaming  from 
his  skinned  head,  and  uttering  a  hideous  howl.  An  old  squaw, 
possibly  his  mother,  stopped  and  looked  back  from  the  mountain- 
sides she  was  climbing,  threatening  and  lamenting.  The  fright- 
ful spectacle  appalled  the  stout  hearts  of  our  men  ;  but  they  did 
what  humanity  required,  and  quickly  terminated  the  agonies 
of  the  gory  savage.  They  were  now  masters  of  the  camp, 
which  was  a  pretty  little  recess  in  the  mountain,  with  a  fine 
spring,  and  apparently  safe  from  all  invasion.  Great  prepara- 
tions had  been  made  to  feast  a  large  party,  for  it  was  a  very 
proper  place  to  rendezvous,  and  for  the  celebration  of  such 
orgies  as  robbers  of  the  desert  would  delight  in.  Several  of 
the  best  horses  had  been  killed,  skinned,  and  cut  up ;  for  the 
Indians  living  in  mountains,  and  only  coming  into  the  plains  to 
rob  and  murder,  make  no  other  use  of  horses  than  to  eat  them. 
Large  earthen  vessels  were  on  the  fire,  boiling  and  stewing 
the  horse-beef;  and  several  baskets,  containing  50  or  60  pairs 
of  moccasins,  indicated  the  presence,  or  expectation,  of  a  con- 
siderable party.  They  released  the  boy,  who  had  given  strong 
evidence  of  the  stoicism,  or  something  else,  of  the- savage  char- 
acter, in  commencing  his  breakfast  upon  a  horse's  head,  as 
soon  as  he  found  he  was  not  to  be  killed,  but  only  tied  as  a 
prisoner.  Their  object  accomplished,  our  men  gathered  up 
all  the  surviving  horses,  fifteen  in  number,  returned  upon  their 
trail,  and  rejoined  us,  at  our  camp,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day.  They  had  rode  about  100  miles,  in  the  pursuit  and  re- 
turn, and  all  in  30  hours.  The  time,  place,  object,  and  num- 
bers considered,  this  expedition  of  Carson  and  Godey  may  be 


382  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [ApuiL, 

considered  among  the  boldest  and  most  disinterested  which  the 
annals  of  western  adventure,  so  full  of  daring  deeds,  can  present. 
Two  men,  in  a  savage  desert,  pursue  day  and  night  an  unknown 
body  of  Indians,  into  the  defile  of  an  unknown  mountain — attack 
them  on  sight,  without  counting  numbers — and  defeat  them  in 
an  instant — and  for  what?  To  punish  the  robbers  of  the 
desert,  and  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  Mexicans  whom  they  did 
not  know.  I  repeat :  it  was  Carson  and  Godey  who  did  this — 
the  former  an  American,  born  in  the  Boonslick  county  of  Mis- 
souri ;  the  latter  a  Frenchman,  born  in  St.  Louis, — and  both 
trained  to  western  enterprise  from  early  life. 

By  the  information  of  Fuentes,  we  had  now  to  make  a  long 
stretch  of  40  or  50  miles  across  a  plain  which  lay  between  us 
and  the  next  possible  camp  ;  and  we  resumed  our  journey  late 
in  the  afternoon,  with  the  intention  of  traveling  through  the 
night,  and  avoiding  the  excessive  heat  of  the  day,  which  was 
oppressive  to  our  animals.  For  several  hours  we  traveled 
across  a  high  plain,  passing,  at  the  opposite  side,  through  a 
canon  by  the  bed  of  a  creek,  running  northwardly  into  a  small 
lake  beyond,  and  both  of  them  being  dry.  We  had  a  warm, 
moonshiny  night ;  and,  traveling  directly  towards  the  north-star, 
we  journeyed  now  across  an  open  plain,  between  mountain- 
ridges — that  on  the  left  being  broken,  rocky,  and  bald,  accord- 
ing  to  Carson  and  Godey,  who  had  entered  here  in  pursuit  of 
the  horses.  The  plain  appeared  covered  principally  with  the 
zygophyllum  Cahfornicum,  already  mentioned  ;  and  the  line  of 
our  road  was  marked  by  the  skeletons  of  horses,  which  were 
strewed  to  considerable  breadth  over  the  plain.  We  were  al- 
ways warned  on  entering  one  of  these  long  stretches,  by  the 
bones  of  these  animals,1  which  had  perished  before  they  could 
reach  the  water.  About  midnight  we  reached  a  considerable 
stream-bed,  now  dry — the  discharge  of  the  waters  of  this  basin, 
(when  it  collected  any)— down  which  we  descended,  in  a 
northwesterly  direction.  The  creek-bed  was  overgrown  with 
shrubbery,  and  several  hours  before  day  it  brought  us  to  the 
entrance  of  a  canon,  where  we  found  water,  and  encamped. 
This  word  canon  is  used  by  the  Spaniards  to  signify  a  defile  or 
gorge  in  a  creek  or  river,  where  high  rocks  press  in  close,  and 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  393 

make  a  narrow  way,  usually  difficult,  and  often  impossible  to 
be  passed. 

In  the  morning  we  found  that  we  had  a  very  poor  camping- 
ground — a  swampy,  salty  spot,  with  a  little  long,  unwholesome 
grass ;  and  the  water,  which  rose  in  springs,  being  useful  only 
to  wet  the  mouth,  but  entirely  too  salt  to  drink.  All  around 
was  sand  and  rocks,  and  skeletons  of  horses  which  had  not  been 
able  to  find  support  for  their  lives.  As  we  were  about  to  start, 
we  found,  at  the  distance  of  a  few  hundred  yards,  among  the 
hills  to  the  southward,  a  spring  of  tolerably  good  water,  which 
was  a  relief  to  ourselves ;  but  the  place  was  too  poor  to  remain 
long,  and  therefore  we  continued  on  this  morning.  On  the 
creek  were  thickets  of  spirolobium  odoratum  (acacia)  in  bloom, 
and  very  fragrant. 

Passing  through  the  canon,  we  entered  another  sandy  ba- 
sin, through  which  the  dry  stream-bed  continued  its  north- 
westerly course,  in  which  direction  appeared  a  high  snowy 
mountain. 

We  traveled  through  a  barren  district,  where  a  heavy  gale 
was  blowing  about  the  loose  sand,  and,  after  a  ride  of  eight 
miles,  reached  a  large  creek  of  salt  and  bitter  water,  running 
in  a  westerly  direction,  to  receive  the  stream-bed  we  had  left. 
It  is  called  by  the  Spaniards  Amargosa — the  bitter-water  of 
the  desert.  Where  we  struck  it,  the  stream  bends ;  and  we 
continued  in  a  northerly  course  up  the  ravine  of  its  valley, 
passing  on  the  way  a  fork  from  the  right,  near  which  occurred 
a  bed  of  plants,  consisting  of  a  remarkable  new  genus  of  cru- 
cifera. 

Gradually  ascending,  the  ravine  opened  into  a  green  valley, 
where,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  were  springs  of  excellent 
water.  We  encamped  among  groves  of  the  new  acacia,  and 
there  was  an  abundance  of  good  grass  for  the  animals. 

This  was  the  best  camping-ground  we  had  seen  since  we 
struck  the  Spanish  trail.  The  day's  journey  was  about  twelve 
miles. 

29th. — To-day  we  had  to  reach  the  ArchileUe,  distant  seven 
miles,  where  the  Mexican  party  had  been  attacked,  and,  leav- 
ing  our  encampment  early,  we  traversed  a  part  of  the  desert, 


384  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [APRIL, 

the  most  sterile  and  repulsive  we  had  yet  seen.  It*  prominent 
features  were  dark  sierras,  naked  and  dry  ;  on  the  plains  a 
few  straggling  shrubs — among  them,  cactus  of  several  varie- 
ties. Fuentes  pointed  out  one  called  by  the  Spaniards  bisnada, 
which  has  a  juicy  pulp,  slightly  acid,  and  is  eaten  by  the  trav- 
eler to  allay  thirst.  Our  course  was  generally  north  ;  and, 
after  crossing  an  intervening  ridge,  we  descended  into  a  sandy 
plain,  or  basin,  in  the  middle  of  which  was  the  grassy  spot, 
with  its  springs  and  willow  bushes,  which  constitutes  a  camp- 
ing-place in  the  desert,  and  is  called  the  Archilette.  The  dead 
silence  of  the  place  was  ominous ;  and,  galloping  rapidly  up, 
we  found  only  the  corpses  of  the  two  men  :  every  thing  else 
was  gone.  They  were  naked,  mutilated,  and  pierced  with  ar- 
rows. Hernandez  had  evidently  fought,  and  with  desperation. 
He  lay  in  advance  of  the  willow  half- faced  tent,  which  shelter, 
ed  his  family,  as  if  he  had  come  out  to  meet  danger,  and  to  re- 
pulse it  from  that  asylum.  One  of  his  hands,  and  both  his  legs, 
had  been  cut  off. .  Giacome,  who  was  a  large  and  strong-look- 
ing man,  was  lying  in  one  of  the  willow  shelters,  pierced  with 
arrows. 

Of  the  women  no  trace  could  be  found,  and  it  was  evident 
they  had  been  carried  off  captive.  A  little  lap-dog,  which  had 
belonged  to  Pablo's  mother,  remained  with  the  dead  bodies,  and 
was  frantic  with  joy  at  seeing  Pablo ;  he,  poor  child,  was  fran- 
tic with  grief,  and  filled  the  air  with  lamentations  for  his  father 
and  mother.  Mi  Padre  !  Mi  Madre  ! — was  his  incessant 
cry.  When  we  beheld  this  pitiable  sight,  and  pictured  to  our- 
selves the  fate  of  the  two  women,  carried  off  by  savages  so 
brutal  and  so  loathsome,  all  compunction  for  the  scalped-alive 
Indian  ceased  ;  and  we  rejoiced  that  Carson  and  Godey  had 
been  able  to  give  so  useful  a  lesson  to  these  American  Arabs 
who  lie  in  wait  to  murder  and  plunder  the  innocent  traveler. 

We  were  all  too  much  affected  by  the  sad  feelings  which  the 
place  inspired,  to  remain  an  unnecessary  moment.  The  night 
we  were  obliged  to  pass  there.  Early  in  the  morning  we  left 
it,  having  first  written  a  brief  account  of  what  had  happened, 
and  put  it  in  the  cleft  of  a  pole  planted  at  the  spring,  that  the 
approaching  caravan  might  learn  the  fate  of  their  friends.  In 


1844.]  CAPT.    FREMONT'S    NARRATIVE.  385 

commemoration  of  the  event,  we  called  the  place  Ague  de  Her- 
nandez— Hernandez's  spring.  By  observation,  its  latitude  was 
353  51'  21". 

30th. — We  continued  our  journey  over  a  district  similar  to 
that  of  the  day  before.  From  the  sandy  basin,  in  which  was 
the  spring,  we  entered  another  basin  of  the  same  character, 
surrounded  everywhere  by  mountains.  Before  us  stretched  a 
high  range,  rising  still  higher  to  the  left,  and  terminating  in  a 
snowy  mountain. 

After  a  day's  march  of  24  miles,  we  reached  at  evening  the 
bed  of  a  stream  from  which  the  water  had  disappeared,  a  little 
only  remaining  in  holes,  which  we  increased  by  digging  ; 
and  about  a  mile  above,  the  stream,  not  yet  entirely  sunk, 
was  spread  out  over  the  sands,  affording  a  little  water  for  the 
animals.  The  stream  came  out  of  the  mountains  on  the  left, 
very  slightly  wooded  with  cottonwood,  willow,  and  acacia,  and 
a  few  dwarf-oaks  ;  and  grass  was  nearly  as  scarce  as  water. 
A  plant  with  showy  yellow  flowers  (Stanleya  integrifolia)  oc- 
curred abundantly  at  intervals  for  the  last  two  days,  and  eriogo- 
num  inflatum  was  among  the  characteristic  plants. 


MAY. 

1st.  -The  air  is  rough,  and  overcoats  pleasant.  The  sky  is 
blue,  and  the  day  bright.  Our  road  was  over  a  plain,  towards 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  ;  zygophyllum  Calif ornicum,  now  m 
bloom,  with  a  small  yellow  flower,  is  characteristic  of  the 
country  ;  and  cacti  were  very  abundant,  and  ir  rich  fresh 
bloom,  which  wonderfully  ornaments  this  poo-  country.  We 
encamped  at  a  spring  in  the  pass,  which  iiad  been  the  site  of 
an  old  village.  Here  we  found  excellent  grass,  but  very  little 
water.  We  dug  out  the  old  spring,  and  watered  some  of  our 
animals.  The  mountain  here  was  wooded  very  slightly  with 
the  nut-pine,  cedars,  and  a  dwarf  species  of  oak ;  and  among 
the  shrubs  were  Purshia  tridentata,  artemtsia,  and  ephedra  oc- 
$identalis.  The  numerous  shrubs  which  constitute  the  vege- 
17 


386  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAST, 

tation  of  the  plains  are  now  in  bloom,  with  flowers  of  white, 
yellow,  red,  and  purple.  The  continual  rocks,  and  want  of 
water  and  grass,  began  to  be  very  hard  on  our  mules  and 
horses  ;  but  the  principal  loss  is  occasioned  by  their  crippled 
feet,  the  greater  part  of  those  left  being  in  excellent  order,  and 
scarcely  a  day  passes  without  some  loss ;  and,  one  by  one, 
Fuentes'  horses  are  constantly  dropping  behind.  Whenever 
they  give  out,  he  dismounts  and  cuts  off  their  tails  and  manes, 
to  make  saddle-girths — the  last  advantage  one  can  gain  from 
them. 

The  next  day,  in  a  short  but  rough  ride  of  12  miles,  we 
crossed  the  mountain  ;  and,  descending  to  a  small  valley  plain, 
encamped  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  on  the  bed  of  a  creek,  and 
found  good  grass  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  abundance  of  water 
in  holes.  The  ridge  is  extremely  rugged  and  broken,  present- 
ing on  this  side  a  continued  precipice,  and  probably  affords  very 
few  passes.  Many  digger  tracks  were  seen  around  us,  but  no 
Indians  were  visible. 

3d. — After  a  day's  journey  of  18  miles,  in  a  northeasterly 
direction,  we  encamped  in  the  midst  of  another  very  large 
basin,  at  a  camping  ground  called  las  Vegas — a  term  which 
the  Spaniards  use  to  signify  fertile  or  marshy  plains,  in  con- 
tradistinction  to  llanos,  which  they  apply  to  dry  and  sterile 
plains.  Two  narrow  streams  of  clear  water,  four  or  five  feet 
deep,  gush  suddenly,  with  a  quick  current,  from  two  singularly 
large  springs ;  these,  and  other  waters  of  the  basin,  pass  out  in 
a  gap  to  the  eastward.  The  taste  of  the  water  is  good,  but 
rather  too  warm  to  be  agreeable ;  the  temperature  being  71° 
in  the  one,  and  73°  in  the  other.  They,  however,  afford  a  de- 
lightful bathing-place. 

4th.— We  started  this  morning  earlier  than  usual,  traveling 
in  .  northeasterly  direction  across  the  plain.  The  new  acacia 
(spirolou^"m  odoratwh)  has  now  become  the  characteristic  tree 
of  the  country  ,  it  is  in  bloom,  and  its  blossoms  are  very  fra- 
grant. The  day  was  still,  and  the  heat,  which  soon  became  very 
oppressive,  appeared  to  bring  out  strongly  the  refreshing  scent 
of  the  zygophyllaceous  shrubs  and  the  sweet  perfume  of  the 
acacia.  The  snowy  ridge  we  had  just  crossed  looked  out  con- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  387 

spicuously  in  the  northwest.  In  about  five  hours'  ride,  we 
crossed  a  gap  in  the  surrounding  ridge,  and  the  appearance  of 
skeletons  of  horses  very  soon  warned  us  that  we  were  engaged 
in  another  dry  Jornada,  which  proved  the  longest  we  had  made 
in  all  our  journey — between  fifty  and  sixty  miles  without  a 
drop  of  water. 

Travelers  through  countries  affording  water  and  timber  can 
have  no  conception  of  our  intolerable  thirst  while  journeying 
over  the  hot  yellow  sands  of  this  elevated  country,  where  the 
heated  air  seems  to  be  entirely  deprived  of  moisture.  We  ate 
occasionally  the  Ibisnada,  and  moistened  our  mouths  with  the 
acid  of  the  sour  dock,  (rumex  venosus.)  Hourly  expecting  to 
find  water,  we  continued  to  press  on  until  towards  midnight, 
when,  after  a  hard  and  uninterrupted  march  of  16  hours,  our 
wild  mules  began  running  ahead ;  and  in  a  mile  or  two  we 
came  to  a  bold  running  stream — so  keen  is  the  sense  of  that  ani- 
mal, in  these  desert  regions,  in  scenting  at  a  distance  this 
necessary  of  life. 

According  to  the  information  we  had  received,  Sevie^  river 
was  a  tributary  of  the  Colorado;  and  this,  accordingly,  should 
have  been  one  of  its  affluents.  It  proved  to  be  the  Rio  de  los 
Angeles,  (river  of  the  Angels) — a  branch  of  the  Rio  Virgen, 
(river  of  the  Virgin.) 

5th. — On  account  of  our  animals,  it  was  necessary  to  remain 
to-day  at  this  place.  Indians  crowded  numerously  around  us 
in  the  morning  ;  and  we  were  obliged  to  keep  arms  in  hand  all 
day,  to  keep  them  out  of  the  camp.  They  began  to  surround 
the  horses,  which,  for  the  convenience  of  grass,  we  were  guard- 
ing a  little  above,  on  the  river.  These  were  immediately  driven 
in,  and  kept  close  to  the  camp. 

In  the  darkness  of  the  night  we  had  made  a  very  bad  en- 
campment, our  fires  being  commanded  by  a  rocky  bluff  within 
50  yards ;  but,  notwithstanding,  we  had  the  river  and  small 
thickets  of  willows  on  the  other  side.  Several  times  during 
the  day  the  camp  was  insulted  by  the  Indians ;  but,  peace 
being  our  object,  I  kept  simply  on  the  defensive.  Some  of  the 
Indians  were  on  the  bottoms,  and  others  haranguing  us  from 
the  bluffs ;  and  they  were  scattered  in  every  direction  over  the 


CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAY, 

hills.  Their  language  being  probably  a  dialect  of  the  Utah, 
with  the  aid  of  signs  some  of  our  people  could  comprehend 
them  very  well.  They  were  the  same  people  who  had  mur- 
dered the  Mexicans;  and  towards  us  their  disposition  was 
evidently  hostile,  nor  were  we  well  disposed  towards  them. 
They  were  barefooted,  and  nearly  naked  ;  their  hair  gathered 
up  into  a  knot  behind ;  and  with  his  bow,  each  man  carried  a 
quiver  with  thirty  or  forty  arrows  partially  drawn  out.  Be- 
sides these,  each  held  in  his  hand  two  or  three  arrows  for  in- 
slant  service.  Their  arrows  are  barbed  with  a  very  clear 
translucent  stone,  a  species  of  opal,  nearly  as  hard  as  the  dia- 
mond ;  and,  shot  from  their  long  bow,  are  almost  as  effective 
as  a  gunshot.  In  these  Indians,  I  was  forcibly  struck  by  an 
expression  of  countenance  resembling  that  in  a  beast  of  prey ; 
and  all  their  actions  are  those  of  wild  animals.  Joined  to  the 
restless  motion  of  the  eye,  there  is  a  want  of  mind — an  absence 
of  thought — and  an  action  wholly  by  impulse,  strongly  ex- 
pressed, and  which  constantly  recalls  the  similarity. 

A  man  who  appeared  to  be  a  chief,  with  two  or  three  others, 
forced  himself  into  the  camp,  bringing  with  him  his  arms,  in 
spite  of  my  orders  to  the  contrary.  When  shown  our  weap- 
ons, he  bored  his  ear  with  his  fingers,  and  said  he  could  not 
hear.  "Why,"  said  he,  "there  are  none  of  you."  Counting 
the  people  around  the  camp,  and  including  in  the  number  a 
mule  that  was  being  shod,  he  made  out  22.  "  So  many,"  said 
he,  showing  the  number,  "  and  we- — we  are  a  great  many  ;" 
and  he  pointed  to  the  hills  and  mountains  round  about.  "  If 
you  have  your  arms,"  said  he,  twanging  his  bow,  "  we  have 
these."  I  had  some  difficulty  in  restraining  the  people,  partic- 
ularly Carson,  who  felt  an  insult  of  this  kind  as  much  as  if  it 
had  been  given  by  a  more  responsible  being.  "  Don't  say  that, 
old  man,"  said  he  ;  "  don't  you  say  that — your  life's  in  danger" 
— speaking  in  good  English ;  and  probably  the  old  man  was 
nearer  to  his  end  than  he  will  be  before  he  meets  it. 

Several  animals  had  been  necessarily  left  behind  near  the 
camp  last  night ;  and  early  in  the  morning,  before  tne  Indians 
made  their  appearance,  several  men  were  sent  to  bring  them 
in.  When  I  was  beginning  to  be  uneasy  at  their  absence,  they 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  389 

returned  with  information  that  they  had  been  driven  off  from 
the  trail  by  Indians ;  and,  having  followed  the  tracks  in  a 
short  distance,  they  found  the  animals  cut  up  and  spread  out 
upon  bushes.  In  the  evening  I  gave  a  fatigued  horse  to  some 
of  the  Indians  for  a  feast ;  and  the  village  which  carried  him 
off  refused  to  share  with  the  others,  who  made  loud  complaints 
from  the  rocks  of  the  partial  distribution.  Many  of  these  In- 
dians had  long  sticks,  hooked  at  the  end,  which  they  use  in 
hauling  out  lizards,  and  other  small  animals,  from  their  holes. 
During  the  day  they  occasionally  roasted  and  ate  lizards  at  our 
fires.  These  belong  to  the  people  who  are  generally  known 
under  the  name  of  Diggers  ;  and  to  these  I  have  more  partic- 
ularly had  reference  when  occasionally  speaking  of  a  people 
whose  sole  occupation  is  to  procure  food  sufficient  to  support 
existence.  The  formation  here  consists  of  fine  yellow  sand- 
stone, alternating  with  a  coarse  conglomerate,  in  which  the 
stones  are  from  the  size  of  ordinary  gravel  to  six  or  eight  inches 
in  diameter.  This  is  the  formation  which  renders  the  surface 
of  the  country  so  rocky,  and  gives  us  now  a  road  alternately 
of  loose  heavy  sands  and  rolled  stones,  which  cripple  the  ani- 
mals in  a  most  extraordinary  manner. 

On  the  following  morning  we  left  the  Rio  de  los  Angeles, 
and  continued  our  way  through  the  same  desolate  and  revolt- 
ing country,  where  lizards  were  the  only  animal,  and  the  tracks 
of  the  lizard  eaters  the  principal  sign  of  human  beings.  After 
twenty  miles'  march  through  a  road  of  hills  and  heavy  sands, 
we  reached  the  most  dreary  river  I  have  ever  seen — a  deep 
rapid  stream,  almost  a  torrent,  passing  swiftly  by,  and  roaring 
against  obstructions.  The  banks  were  wooded  with  willow, 
acacia,  and  a  frequent  plant  of  the  country  already  mentioned, 
(Garrya  elliptical)  growing  in  thickets,  resembling  willow,  and 
bearing  a  small  pink  flower.  Crossing  it  we  encamped  on  the 
left  bank,  where  we  found  a  very  little  grass.  Our  three  re- 
maining steers,  being  entirely  given  out,  were  killed  here.  By 
the  boiling  point,  the  elevation  of  the  river  here  is  4,060  feet ; 
and  latitude,  by  observation,  36°  41/  33".  The  stream  was 
running  towards  the  southwest,  and  appeared  to  come  from  a 
snowy  mountain  in  the  north.  It  proved  to  be  the  Rio  Virgen 


390  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAY, 

— a  tributary  to  the  Colorado.  Indians  appeared  in  bands  on 
the  hills,  but  did  not  come  into  camp.  For  several  days  we 
continued  our  journey  up  the  river,  the  bottoms  of  which  were 
thickly  overgrown  with  various  kinds  of  brush  ;  and  the  sandy 
soil  was  absolutely  covered  with  the  tracks  of  Diggers,  who 
followed  us  stealthily,  like  a  band  of  wolves ;  and  we  had  no 
opportunity  to  leave  behind,  even  for  a  few  hours,  the  tired 
animals,  in  order  that  they  might  be  brought  into  camp  after  a 
little  repose.  A  horse  or  mule,  left  behind,  was  taken  off  in  a 
moment.  On  the  evening  of  the  8th,  having  traveled  28  miles 
up  the  river  from  our  first  encampment  on  it,  we  encamped  at 
a  little  grass-plat,  where  a  spring  of  cool  water  issued  from  the 
bluff.  On  the  opposite  side  was  a  grove  of  cottonwoods  at  the 
mouth  of  a  fork,  which  here  enters  the  river.  On  either  side 
the  valley  is  bounded  by  ranges  of  mountains,  everywhere 
high,  rocky,  and  broken.  The  caravan  road  was  lost  and 
scattered  in  the  sandy  country,  and  we  had  been  following  an 
Indian  trail  up  the  river.  The  hunters  the  next  day  were  sent 
out  to  reconnoitre,  and  in  the  mean  time  we  moved  about  a  mile 
farther  up,  where  we  found  a  good  little  patch  of  grass.  There 
being  only  sufficient  grass  for  the  night,  the  horses  were  sent 
with  a  strong  guard  in  charge  of  Tabeau  to  a  neighboring  hol- 
low, where  they  might  pasture  during  the  day  ;  and,  to  be 
ready  in  case  the  Indians  should  make  any  attempt  on  the  an- 
imals, several  of  the  best  horses  were  picketed  at  the  camp. 
In  a  few  hours  the  hunters  returned,  having  found  a  convenient 
ford  in  the  river,  and  discovered  the  Spanish  trail  on  the  other 
side. 

I  had  been  engaged  in  arranging  plants ;  and,  fatigued  with 
the  heat  of  the  day,  I  fell  asleep  in  the  afternoon,  and  did  not 
awake  until  sundown.  Presently  Carson  came  to  me,  and  report- 
ed that  Tabeau,  who  early  in  the  day  had  left  his  post,  and, 
without  my  knowledge,  rode  back  to  the  camp  we  had  left,  in 
search  of  a  lame  mule,  had  not  returned.  While  we  were 
speaking,  a  smoke  rose  suddenly  from  the  cottonvvood  grove 
below,  which  plainly  told  us  what  had  befallen  him  ;  it  was 
raised  to  inform  the  surrounding  Indians  that  a  blow  had  been 
struck,  and  to  tell  them  to  be  on  their  guard.  Carson,  with 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  891 

several  men  well  mounted,  was.  instantly  sent  down  the  river, 
but  returned  in  the  night  without  tidings  of  the  missing  man. 
They  went  to  the  camp  we  had  left,  but  neither  he  nor  the  mule 
was  there.  Searching  down  the  river,  they  found  the  tracks  of 
the  mule,  evidently  driven  along  by  Indians,  whose  tracks  were 
on  each  side  of  those  made  by  the  animal.  After  going  several 
miles,  they  came  to  the  mule  itself,  standing  in  some  bushes, 
mortally  wounded  in  the  side  by  an  arrow,  and  left  to  die.  that 
it  might  be  afterwards  butchered  for  food.  They  also  found,  in 
another  place,  as  they  were  hunting  about  on  the  ground  for 
Tabeau's  tracks,  something  that  looked  like  a  little  puddle  of 
blood,  but  which  the  darkness  prevented  them  from  verify, 
ing.  With  these  details  they  returned  to  our  camp,  and  their 
report  saddened  all  our  hearts, 

10th. — This  morning,  as  soon  as  there  was  light  enough  to 
follow  tracks,  I  set  out  myself,  with  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and  several 
men,  in  search  of  Tabeau,  We  went  to  the  spot  where  the 
appearance  of  puddled  blood  had  been  seen  ;  and  this,  we  saw 
at  once,  had  been  the  place  where  he  fell  and  died.  Blood 
upon  the  leaves,  and  beaten-down  bushes,  showed  that  he  had 
got  his  wound  about  twenty  paces  from  where  he  fell,  and  that 
he  had  struggled  for  his  life.  He  had  probably  been  shot 
through  the  lungs  with  an  arrow.  From  the  place  where  he 
lay  and  bled,  it  could  be  seen  that  he  had  been  dragged  to  the 
river  bank,  and  thrown  into  it.  No  vestige  of  what  had  be- 
longed to  him  could  be  found,  except  a  fragment  of  his  horse 
equipment.  Horse,  gun,  clothes — all  -became  the  prey  of 
these  Arabs  of  the  New  World. 

Tabeau  had  been  one  of  our  best  men,  and  his  unhapp\ 
death  spread  a  gloom  over  our  party.  Men,  who  have  gone 
through  such  dangers  and  sufferings  as  we  had  seen,  become 
like  brothers,  and  feel  each  other's  loss.  To  defend  and 
avenge  each  other,  is  the  deep  feeling  of  all.  We  wished  to 
avenge  his  death  ;  but  the  condition  of  our  horses,  languish- 
ing for  grass  and  repose,  forbade  an  expedition  into  unknown 
mountains.  We  knew  the  tribe  who  had  done  the  mischief — 
the  same  which  had  been  insulting  our  camp.  They  knew 
what  they  deserved,  and  had  the  discretion  to  show  them. 


392  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAT, 

selves  to  us  no  more.  The  day  before,  they  infested  our 
camp  ;  now,  not  one  appeared  ;  nor  did  we  ever  afterwards 
see  but  one  who  even  belonged  to  the  same  tribe,  and  he  at  a 
distance. 

Our  camp  was  in  a  basin  below  a  deep  canon — a  gap  of 
two  thousand  feet  deep  in  the  mountain — through  which  the 
Rio  Virgen  passes,  and  where  no  man  or  beast  could  follow 
it.  The  Spanish  trail,  which  we  had  lost  in  the  sands  of  the 
basin,  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  We  crossed  over 
to  it,  and  followed  it  northwardly  towards  a  gap  which  was 
visible  in  the  mountain.  We  approached  it  by  a  defile,  ren- 
dered difficult  for  our  barefooted  animals  by  the  rocks  strewed 
along  it ;  and  here  the  country  changed  its  character.  From 
the  time  we  entered  the  desert,  the  mountains  had  been  bald 
and  rocky  ;  here  they  began  to  be  wooded  with  cedar  and 
pine,  and  clusters  of  trees  gave  shelter  to  birds — a  new  and 
welcome  sight — which  could  not  have  lived  in  the  desert  we 
had  passed. 

Descending  a  long  hollow,  towards  the  narrow  valley  of  a 
stream,  we  saw  before  us  a  snowy  mountain,  far  beyond  which 
appeared  another  more  lofty  still.  Good  bunch-grass  began  to 
appear  on  the  hill-sides,  and  here  we  found  a  singular  variety 
of  interesting  shrubs.  The  changed  appearance  of  the  coun- 
try infused  among  our  people  a  more  lively  spirit,  which  was 
heightened  by  finding  at  evening  a  halting-place  of  very  good 
grass  on  the  clear  waters  of  the  Santa  Clara  fork  of  the  Rio 
Virgen. 

llth. — The  morning  was  cloudy  and  quite  cool,  with  a 
shower  of  rain — the  first  we  have  had  since  entering  the  desert, 
a  period  of  27  days — and  we  seem  to  have  entered  a  different 
climate,  with  the  usual  weather  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  Our 
march  to-day  was  very  laborious,  over  very  broken  ground, 
along  the  Santa  Clara  river  ;  but  then  the  country  is  no  longer 
so  distressingly  desolate.  The  stream  is  prettily  wooded  with 
sweet  cottonwood  trees — some  of  them  of  large  size ;  and  on 
the  hills,  where  the  nut-pine  is  often  seen,  a  good  and  whole- 
some grass  occurs  frequently.  This  cottonwood,  which  is 
now  in  fruit,  is  of  a  different  species  from  any  in  Michaux's 


1S44.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  393 

Sylva.  Heavy  dark  clouds  covered  the  sky  in  the  evening, 
and  a  cold  wind  sprang  up,  making  fires  and  overcoats  com- 
fortable. 

12th. — A  little  above  our  encampment  the  river  forked,  and 
we  continued  up  the  right-hand  branch,  gradually  ascending 
towards  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  As  we  rose  towards  the 
head  of  the  creek,  the  snowy  mountains  on  our  right  showed 
out  handsomely — high  and  rugged,  with  precipices,  and  cov- 
ered with  snow  for  about  two  thousand  feet  from  their  summits 
down.  Our  animals  were  somewhat  repaid  for  their  hard 
marches  by  an  excellent  camping-ground  on  the  summit  of  the 
ridge,  which  forms  here  the  dividing  chain  between  the  waters 
of  the  Rio  Virgen,  which  goes  south  to  the  Colorado,  and  those 
of  Sevier  river,  flowing  northwardly,  and  belonging  to  the 
Great  Basin.  We  considered  ourselves  as  crossing  the  rim  of 
the  basin  ;  and,  entering  it  at  this  point,  we  found  here  an  ex- 
tensive mountain  meadow,  rich  in  bunch-grass,  and  fresh  with 
numerous  springs  of  clear  water,  all  refreshing  and  delightful 
to  look  upon.  It  was,  in  fact,  that  las  Vegas  de  Santa  Clara, 
which  had  been  so  long  presented  to  us  as  the  terminating 
point  of  the  desert,  and  where  the  annual  caravan  from  Cali- 
fornia to  New  Mexico  halted  and  recruited  for  some  weeks. 
It  was  a  very  suitable  place  to  recover  from  the  fatigue  and 
exhaustion  of  a  month's  suffering  in  the  hot  and  sterile  desert. 
The  meadow  was  about  a  mile  wide,  some  ten  miles  long,  bor- 
dered by  grassy  hills  and  mountains — some  of  the  latter  rising 
two  thousand  feet,  and  white  with  snow  down  to  the  level  of 
the  vegas.  Its  elevation  above  the  sea  was  5,280  feet ;  lati- 
tude, by  observation,  37°  28'  28" ;  and  its  distance  from  where 
we  first  struck  the  Spanish  trail  about  400  miles.  Counting 
from  the  time  we  reached  the  desert,  and  began  to  skirt,  at  our 
descent  from  Walker's  Pass  in  the  Sierra  Nevada,  we  had 
traveled  550  miles,  occupying  27  days,  in  that  inhospitable 
region.  In  passing  before  the  Great  Caravan,  we  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  finding  more  grass,  but  the  disadvantage  of  finding 
also  the  marauding  savages,  who  had  gathered  down  upon  the 
trail,  waiting  the  approach  of  that  prey.  This  greatlj  in- 
creased our  labors,  besides  costing  us  the  life  of  an  excellent 
17* 


304  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAT, 

man.  We  had  to  move  all  day  in  a  state  of  watch,  and  pre- 
pared for  combat — scouts  and  flankers  out,  a  front  and  rear 
division  of  our  men,  and  baggage-animals  in  the  centre.  At 
night,  camp  duty  was  severe.  Those  who  had  toiled  all  day, 
had  to  guard,  by  turns,  the  camp  and  the  horses,  all  night. 
Frequently  one-third  of  the  whole  party  were  on  guard  at 
once  ;  and  nothing  but  this  vigilance  saved  us  from  attack. 
We  were  constantly  dogged  by  bands,  and  even  whole  tribes 
of  marauders  ;  and  although  Tabeau  was  killed,  and  our  camp 
infested  and  insulted  by  some,  while  swarms  of  them  remained 
on  the  hills  and  mountain-sides,  there  was  manifestly  a  con- 
sultation and  calculation  going  on,  to  decide  the  question  of 
attacking  us.  Having  readied  the  resting-place  of  the  Vegas 
de  Santa  Clara,  we  had  complete  relief  from  the  heat  and  pri- 
vations  of  the  desert,  and  some  relaxation  from  the  severity  of 
camp  duty.  Some  relaxation,  and  relaxation  only — for  camp- 
guards,  horse-guards,  and  scouts,  are  indispensable  from  the 
time  of  leaving  the  frontiers  of  Missouri  until  we  return  to 
them. 

After  we  left  the  Vegas,  we  had  the  gratification  to  be  joined 
by  the  famous  hunter  and  trapper,  Mr.  Joseph  Walker,  whom 
I  have  before  mentioned,  and  who  now  became  our  guide.  ' 
had  left  California  with  the  great  caravan ;  and  perce*  g, 
from  the  signs  along  the  trail,  that  there  was  a  party  of  ates 
ahead,  which  he  judged  to  be  mine,  he  detached  him  ,  from 
the  caravan,  with  eight  men,  (Americans,)  and  rar  .e  gaunt- 
let of  the  desert  robbers,  killing  two,  and  getting*  <mie  of  the 
horses  wounded,  and  succeeded  in  overtaking  UP.  Nothing  but 
his  great  knowledge  of  the  country,  great  courage  and  pres- 
ence-of  mind,  and  good  rifles,  could  have  Drought  him  safe 
from  such  a  perilous  enterprise. 

13th. — We  remained  one  day  at  this  noted  place  of  rest  and 
refreshment ;  and,  resuming  our  progress  in  a  northwestward- 
ly direction,  we  descended  into  a  broad  valley,  the  water  of 
which  is  tributary  to  Sevier  lake.  The  next  day  we  came  in 
sight  of  the  Wahsatch  range  of  mountains  on  the  right,  white 
with  snow,  and  here  forming  the  southeast  part  of  the  Great 
Basin.  Sevier  lake,  upon  the  waters  of  which  we  now  were, 


1944.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  895 

belonged  to  the  system  of  lakes  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Basin 
—of  which,  the  Great  Salt  lake,  and  its  southern  limb,  the  Utah 
lake,  were  the  principal — towards  the  region  of  which  we 
were  now  approaching.  We  traveled  for  several  days  in  this 
direction,  within  the  rim  of  the  Great  Basin,  crossing  little 
streams  which  bore  to  the  left  for  Sevier  lake ;  and  plainly 
seeing,  by  the  changed  aspect  of  the  country,  that  we  were 
entirely  clear  of  the  desert,  and  approaching  the  regions  which 
appertained  to  the  system  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  We 
met,  in  this  traverse,  a  few  mounted  Utah  Indians,  in  advance 
of  their  main  body,  watching  the  approach  of  the  great 
caravan. 

16th. — We  reached  a  small  salt  lake,  about  seven  miles 
long  and  one  broad,  at  the  northern  extremity  of  which  we  en- 
camped  for  the  night.  This  little  lake,  which  well  merits  its 
characteristic  name,  lies  immediately  at  the  base  of  the  Wah- 
satch  range,  and  nearly  opposite  a  gap  in  that  chain  of  moun- 
tains through  -which  the  Spanish  trail  passes ;  and  which, 
again  falling  upon  the  waters  of  the  Colorado,  and  crossing 
that  river,  proceeds  over  a  mountainous  country  to  Santa  Fe. 
17th. — After  440  miles  of  traveling  on  a  trail,  which  served 
for  a  road,  we  again  found  ourselves  under  the  necessity 
of  exploring  a  track  through  the  wilderness.  The  Spanish 
trail  had  borne  off  to  the  southeast,  crossing  the  Wah-satch 
range.  Our  course  led  to  the  northeast,  along  the  foot  of 
that  range,  and  leaving  it  on  the  right.  The  mountain  pre- 
sented itself  to  us  under  the  form  of  several  ridges,  rising  one 
above  the  other,  rocky,  and  wooded  with  pine  and  cedar ;  the 
last  ridge  covered  with  snow.  Sevier  river,  flowing  north- 
wardly to  the  lake  of  the  same  name,  collects  its  principal  wa- 
ters from  this  section  of  the  Wah-satch  chain.  We  had  now 
entered  a  region  of  great  pastoral  promise,  abounding  with  fine 
streams,  the  rich  bunch-grass,  soil  that  would  produce  wheat, 
and  indigenous  flax  growing  as  if  it  had  been  sown.  Consist- 
ent with  the  general  character  of  its  bordering  mountains,  this 
fertility  of  soil  and  vegetation  does  not  extend  far  into  the  Great 
Basin.  Mr.  Joseph  Walker,  our  guide,  and  who  has  more 
knowledge  of  these  parts  than  any  man  I  know,  informed  me 


396  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAT, 

that  all  the  country  to  the  left  was  unknown  to  him,  and  that 
even  the  Digger  tribes,  which  frequented  Lake  Sevier,  could 
tell  him  nothing  about  it. 

20th. — We  met  a  band  of  Utah  Indians,  headed  by  a  well- 
known  chief,  who  had  obtained  the  American  or  English  name 
of  Walker,  by  which  he  is  quoted  and  well  known.  They 
were  all  mounted,  armed  with  rifles,  and  used  their  rifles  well. 
The  chief  had  a  fusee,  which  he  carried  slung,  in  addition  to 
his  rifle.  They  were  journeying  slowly  towards  the  Spanish 
trail,  to  levy  their  usual  tribute  upon  the  great  California  cara- 
van. They  were  robbers  of  a  higher  order  than  those  of  the 
desert.  They  conducted  their  depredations  with  form,  and 
under  the  color  of  trade  and  toll,  for  passing  through  their 
country.  Instead  of  attacking  and  killing,  they  affect  to  pur- 
chase— taking  the  horses  they  like,  and  giving  something  nom- 
inal in  return.  The  chief  was  quite  civil  to  me.  He  was 
personally  acquainted  with  his  namesake,  our  guide,  who 
made  my  name  known  to  him.  He  knew  of  rny  expedition 
of  1842;  and,  as  tokens  of  friendship,  and  proof  that  we  had 
met,  proposed  an  interchange  of  presents.  We  had  no  great 
store  to  choose  out  of;  so  he  gave  me  a  Mexican  blanket, 
and  I  gave  him  a  very  fine  one  which  I  had  obtained  at  Van- 
couver. 

23d. — We  reached  Sevier  river — the  main  tributary  of  the 
lake  of  the  same  name — which,  deflecting  from  its  northern 
course,  here  breaks  from  the  mountains  to  enter  the  lake.  It 
was  really  a  fine  river,  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  deep ;  and 
after  searching  in  vain  for  a  fordable  place,  we  made  little 
boats  (or  rather  rafts)  out  of  bulrushes,  and  ferried  across. 
These  rafts  are  readily  made,  and  give  a  good  conveyance 
across  a  river.  The  rushes  are  bound  in  bundles,  and  tied 
hard ;  the  bundles  are  tied  down  upon  poles,  as  close  as  they 
can  be  pressed,  and  fashioned  like  a  boat,  in  being  broader  in 
the  middle  and  pointed  at  the  ends.  The  rushes,  being  tubular 
and  jointed,  are  light  and  strong.  The  raft  swims  well,  and 
is  shoved  along  by  poles,  or  paddled,  or  pushed  and  pulled  by 
swimmers,  or  drawn  by  ropes.  On  this  occasion,  we  used 
ropes — one  at  each  end — and  rapidly  drew  our  little  float 


1&4.4.J          CAPT.  FREMONT  S  NAEEAT1VE.  397 

backwards  and  forwards  from  shore  to  shore.  The  horses 
swam.  At  our  place  of  crossing,  which  was  the  most  north- 
ern point  of  its  bend,  the  latitude  was  39°  22'  19".  The 
banks  sustained  the  character  for  fertility  and  vegetation 
which  we  had  seen  for  some  days.  The  name  of  this  river 
and  lake  was  an  indication  of  our  approach  to  regions  of 
which  our  people  had  been  the  explorers.  It  was  probably 
named  after  some  American  trapper  or  hunter,  and  was  the 
first  American  name  we  had  met  with  since  leaving  the  Co- 
lumbia river.  From  the  Dalles  to  the  point  where  we  turned 
across  the  Sierra  Nevada,  near  1,000  miles,  we  heard  Indian 
names,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  distance  none  ;  from  Nueva 
Helvetia  (Sacramento)  to  las  Vegas  de  Santa  Clara,  about 
1,000  more,  all  were  Spanish ;  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pa- 
cific, French  and  American  or  English  were  intermixed ;  and 
this  prevalence  of  names  indicates  the  national  character  of  the 
first  explorers. 

We  had  here  the  misfortune  to  lose  one  of  our  people,  Fran- 
<jois  Badeau,  who  had  been  with  me  on  both  expeditions ;  dur- 
ing which  he  had  always  been  one  of  my  most  faithful  and 
efficient  men.  He  was  killed  in  drawing  towards  him  a  gun 
by  the  muzzle  ;  the  hammer  being  caught,  discharged  the  gun, 
driving  the  ball  through  his  head.  We  buried  him  on  the 
banks  of  the  river. 

Crossing  the  next  day  a  slight  ridge  along  the  river,  we  en- 
tered a  handsome  mountain  valley  covered  with  fine  grass,  and 
directed  our  course  towards  a  high  snowy  peak,  at  the  foot  of 
which  lay  the  Utah  lake.  On  our  right  was  a  bed  of  high 
mountains,  their  summits  covered  with  snow,  constituting  the 
dividing  ridge  between  the  Basin  waters  and  those  of  the  Colo- 
rado. At  noon  we  fell  in  with  a  party  of  Utah  Indians  com- 
ing out  of  the  mountain,  and  in  the  afternoon  encamped  on  a 
tributary  to  the  lake,  which  is  separated  from  the  waters  of  the 
Sevier  by  very  slight  dividing  grounds. 

Early  the  next  day  we  came  in  sight  of  the  lake  ;  and,  as 
we  descended  to  the  broad  bottoms  of  the  Spanish  fork,  three 
horsemen  were  seen  galloping  towards  us,  who  proved  to  be 
Utah  Indians — scouts  from  a  village,  which  was  encamped 


398  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAY, 

near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  They  were  armed  with  rifles, 
and  their  horses  were  in  good  condition.  We  encamped  near 
them,  on  the  Spanish  fork,  which  is  one  of  the  principal  tribu- 
taries to  the  lake.  Finding  the  Indians  troublesome,  and  de- 
sirous to  remain  here  a  day,  we  removed  the  next  morning 
farther  down  the  lake  and  encamped  on  a  fertile  bottom  near 
the  foot  of  the  same  mountainous  ridge  which  borders  the 
Great  Salt  lake,  and  along  which  we  had  journeyed  the  pre- 
vious September.  Here  the  principal  plants  in  bloom  were 
two,  which  were  remarkable  as  affording  to  the  Snake  Indians 
— the  one  an  abundant  supply  of  food,  and  the  other  the  most 
useful  among  the  applications  which  they  use  for  wounds. 
These  were  the  kooyah  plant,  growing  in  fields  of  extraordinary 
luxuriance,  and  convollaria  stellata,  which,  from  the  experience 
of  Mr.  Walker,  is  the  best  remedial  plant  known  among  these 
Indians.  A  few  miles  below  us  was  another  village  of  Indians, 
from  which  we  obtained  some  fish — among  them  a  few  salmon 
trout,  which  were  very  much  inferior  in  size  to  those  along  the 
Californian  mountains.  The  season  for  taking  them  had  not 
yet  arrived  ;  but  the  Indians  were  daily  expecting  them  to  come 
up  out  of  the  lake. 

We  had  now  accomplished  an  object  we  had  in  view  when 
leaving  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  in  November  last :  we  had 
reached  the  Utah  lake  ;  but  by  a  route  very  different  from  the 
one  we  had  intended,  and  without  sufficient  time  remaining  to 
make  the  examinations  which  we  desired.  It  is  a  lake  of  note 
in  this  country,  under  the  dominion  of  the  Utahs,  who  resort 
to  it  for  fish.  Its  greatest  breadth  is  about  fifteen  miles,  stretch- 
ing far  to  the  north,  narrowing  as  it  goes,  and  connecting  with 
the  Great  Salt  lake.  This  is  the  report,  which  I  believe  to 
be  correct ;  but  it  is  fresh  water,  while  the  other  is  not  only  salt, 
but  a  saturated  solution  of  salt ;  and  here  is  a  problem  which 
requires  to  be  solved.  It  is  almost  entirely  surrounded  by 
mountains,  walled  on  the  north  and  east  by  a  high  and  snowy 
range,  which  supplies  to  it  a  fan  of  tributary  streams.  Among 
these,  the  principal  river  is  the  Timpan-ogo — signifying  Rock 
river — a  name  which  the  rocky  grandeur  of  its  scenery,  re- 
maikable  even  in  this  country  of  rugged  mountains,  has 


1944.]  CAPT. 'FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  399 

obtained  for  it  from  the  Indians.  In  the  Utah  language,  og- 
wah-be,  the  term  for  river,  when  coupled  with  other  words  in 
common  conversation,  is  usually  abbreviated  to  ogo  ;  timpan 
signifying  rock.  It  is  probable  that  this  river  furnished  the 
name  which  on  the  older  maps  has  been  generally  applied  to 
the  Great  Salt  lake  ;  but  for  this  I  have  preferred  a  name 
which  will  be  regarded  as  highly  characteristic,  restricting 
to  the  river  the  descriptive  term  Timpan-ogo,  and  leaving 
for  the  lake  into  which  it  flows  the  name  of  the  people  who 
reside  on  its  shores,  and  by  which  it  is  known  throughout  the 
country. 

The  volume  of  water  afforded  by  the  Timpan-ogo  is  proba- 
bly equal  to  that  of  the  Sevier  river ;  and,  at  the  time  of  our 
visit,  there  was  only  one  place  in  the  lake-valley  at  which 
the  Spanish  fork  was  fordable.  In  the  cove  of  the  mountains 
along  its  eastern  shore,  the  lake  is  bordered  by  a  plain,  where 
the  soil  is  generally  good,  and  in  greater  part  fertile ;  watered 
by  a  delta  of  prettily  timbered  streams.  This  would  be  an 
excellent  locality  for  stock-farms ;  it  is  generally  covered  with 
good  bunch-grass,  and  would  abundantly  produce  the  ordinary 
grains. 

In  arriving  at  the  Utah  lake,  we  had  completed  an  immense 
circuit  of  twelve  degrees  diameter  north  and  south,  and  ten 
degrees  east  and  west ;  and  found  ourselves,  in  May,  1844,  on 
the  same  sheet  of  water  which  we  had  left  in  September,  1843. 
The  Utah  is  the  southern  limb  of  the  Great  Salt  lake ;  and 
thus  we  had  seen  that  remarkable  sheet  of  water  both  at  its 
northern  and  southern  extremity,  and  were  able  to  fix  its  posi- 
tion at  these  two  points.  The  circuit  which  we  had  made, 
and  which  had  cost  us  eight  months  of  time,  and  3,500  miles 
of  traveling,  had  given  us  a  view  of  Oregon  and  of  North 
California  from  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  and 
of  the  two  principal  streams  which  form  bays  or  harbors  on 
the  coast  of  that  sea.  Having  completed  this  circuit,  and  be- 
ing now  about  to  turn  the  back  upon  the  Pacific  slope  of  our 
continent,  and  to  recross  the  Rocky  mountains,  it  is  natural  to 
look  back  upon  our  footsteps,  and  take  some  brief  view  of  the 
leading  feat  ires  and  general  structure  of  the  country  we  had 


400  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAY, 

traversed.  These  are  peculiar  and  striking,  and  differ  essen- 
tially from  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  country.  The  mountains 
all  are  higher,  more  numerous,  and  more  distinctly  defined  in 
their  ranges  and  directions ;  and,  what  is  so  contrary  to  the 
natural  order  of  formations,  one  of  these  ranges,  which  is  near 
the  coast,  (the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Coast  Range,)  presents 
higher  elevations  and  peaks  than  any  which  are  to  be  found 
in  the  Rocky  mountains  themselves.  In  our  eight  months' 
circuit,  we  were  never  out  of  sight  of  snow ;  and  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  where  we  crossed  it,  was  near  2,000  feet  higher  than 
the  South  Pass  in  the  Rocky  mountains.  In  height,  these 
mountains  greatly  exceed  those  of  the  Atlantic  side,  constantly 
presenting  peaks  which  enter  the  region  of  eternal  snow ;  and 
some  of  them  volcanic,  and  in  a  frequent  state  of  activity. 
They  are  seen  at  great  distances,  and  guide  the  traveler  in  his 
course. 

The  course  and  elevation  of  these  ranges  give  direction  to 
the  rivers  and  character  to  the  coast.  No  great  river  does,  or 
can,  take  its  rise  below  the  Cascade  and  Sierra  Nevada  range ; 
the  distance  to  the  sea  is  too  short  to  admit  of  it.  The  rivers 
of  the  San  Francisco  bay,  which  are  the  largest  after  the  Co- 
lumbia, are  local  to  that  bay,  and  lateral  to  the  coast,  having 
their  sources  about  on  a  line  with  the  Dalles  of  the  Columbia, 
and  running  each  in  a  valley  of  its  own,  between  the  Coast  range 
and  the  Cascade  and  Sierra  Nevada  range.  The  Columbia  is 
the  only  river  which  traverses  the  whole  breadth  of  the  coun- 
try, breaking  through  all  the  ranges,  and  entering  the  sea. 
Drawing  its  waters  from  a  section  of  ten  degrees  of  latitude  in 
the  Rocky  mountains,  which  are  collected  into  one  stream  by 
three  main  forks  (Lewis's,  Clark's,  and  the  North  fork)  near 
the  centre  of  the  Oregon  valley,  this  great  river  thence  pro- 
ceeds by  a  single  channel  to  the  sea,  while  its  three  forks  lead 
each  to  a  pass  in  the  mountains,  which  opens  the  way  into  the 
interior  of  the  continent.  This  fact  in  relation  to  the  rivers  of 
this  region,  gives  an  immense  value  to  the  Columbia.  Its  mouth 
is  the  only  inlet  and  outlet  to  and  from  the  sea :  its  three  forks 
lead  to  the  passes  in  the  mountains :  it  is,  therefore,  the  only 
line  of  communication  between  the  Pacific  and  the  interior  of 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  401 

North  America ;  and  all  operations  of  war  or  commerce,  of 
national  or  social  intercourse,  must  be  conducted  upon  it. 
This  gives  it  a  value  beyond  estimation,  and  would  involve 
irreparable  injury  if  lost.  In  this  unity  and  concentration  of 
its  waters,  the  Pacific  side  of  our  continent  differs  entirely  from 
the  Atlantic  side,  where  the  waters  of  the  Alleghany  moun- 
tains are  dispersed  into  many  rivers,  having  their  different  en- 
trances into  the  sea,  and  opening  many  lines  of  communication 
with  the  interior. 

The  Pacific  coast  is  equally  different  from  that  of  the  At- 
iantic.  The  coast  of  the  Atlantic  is  low  and  open,  indented 
?vith  numerous  bays,  sounds,  and  river  estuaries,  accessible 
everywhere,  and  opening  by  many  channels  into  the  heart  of 
die  country.  The  Pacific  coast,  on  the  contrary,  is  high  and 
eompact,  with  few  bays,  and  but  one  that  opens  into  the  heart 
of  the  country.  The  immediate  coast  is  what  the  seamen  call 
jron-bound.  A  little  within,  it  is  skirted  by  two  successive 
ranges  of  mountains,  standing  as  ramparts  between  the  sea  and 
the  interior  of  the  country ;  and  to  get  through  which  there  is 
but  one  gate,  and  that  narrow  and  easily  defended.  This  struc- 
ture of  the  coast,  backed  by  these  two  ranges  of  mountains, 
tfith  its  concentration  and  unity  of  waters,  gives  to  the  country 
an  immense  military  strength,  and  will  probably  render  Oregon 
Jie  most  impregnable  country  in  the  world. 

Differing  so  much  from  the  Atlantic  side  of  our  continent,  m 
toast,  mountains,  and  rivers,  the  Pacific  side  differs  from  it  in 
another  most  rare  and  singular  feature — that  of  the  Great 
Interior  Basin,  of  which  I  have  so  often  spoken,  and  the  whole 
form  and  character  of  which  I  was  so  anxious  to  ascertain. 
Its  existence  is  vouched  for  by  such  of  the  American  traders 
and  hunters  as  have  some  knowledge  of  that  region  ;  the  struc- 
ture of  the  Sierra  Nevada  range  of  mountains  requires  it  to  be 
there ;  and  my  own  observations  confirm  it.  Mr.  Joseph 
Walker,  who  is  so  well  acquainted  in  those  parts,  informed  me 
that,  from  the  Great  Salt  lake  west,  there  was  a  succession  of 
lakes  and  rivers  which  have  no  outlet  to  the  sea,  nor  any  con- 
nection with  the  Columbia,  or  with  the  Colorado  of  the  Gulf  of 
California.  He  described  some  of  these  lakes  as  being  large, 


402  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAT 

with  numerous  streams,  and  even  considerable  rivers  falling 
into  them.  In  fact,  all  concur  in  the  general  report  of  these 
interior  rivers  and  lakes ;  and,  for  want  of  understanding  the 
force  and  power  of  evaporation,  which  so  soon  establishes  an 
equilibrium  between  the  loss  and  supply  of  waters,  the  fable 
of  whirlpools  and  subterraneous  outlets  has  gained  belief,  as 
the  only  imaginable  way  of  carrying  off  the  waters  which  have 
no  visible  discharge.  The  structure  of  the  country  would  re- 
quire this  formation  of  interior  lakes ;  for  the  waters  which 
would  collect  between  the  Rocky  mountains  and  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  not  being  able  to  cross  this  formidable  barrier,  nor  to 
get  to  the  Columbia  or  the  Colorado,  must  naturally  collect 
into  reservoirs,  each  of  which  would  have  its  little  system  of 
streams  and  rivers  to  supply  it.  This  would  be  the  natural 
effect ;  and  what  I  saw  went  to  confirm  it.  The  Great  Salt 
lake  is  a  formation  of  this  kind,  and  quite  a  large  one ;  and 
having  many  streams,  and  one  considerable  river,  400  or  500 
miles  long,  falling  into  it.  This  lake  and  river  I  saw  and 
examined  myself;  and  also  saw  the  Wah-satch  and  Bear  River 
mountains,  which  enclose  the  waters  of  the  lake  on  the  east, 
and  constitute,  in  that  quarter,  the  rim  of  the  Great  Basin. 
Afterwards,  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  where 
we  traveled  for  42  days,  I  -saw  the  line  of  lakes  and  rivers 
which  lie  at  the  foot  of  that  Sierra ;  and  which  Sierra  is  the 
western  rim  of  the  Basin.  In  going  down  Lewis's  fork  and 
the  main  Columbia,  I  crossed  only  inferior  streams  coming  in 
from  the  left,  such  as  could  draw  their  water  from  a  short  dis- 
tance only  ;  and  I  often  saw  the  mountains  at  their  heads  white 
with  snow, — which,  all  accounts  said,  divided  the  waters  of  the 
desert  from  those  of  the  Columbia,  and  which  could  be  no  othei 
than  the  range  of  mountains  which  form  the  rim  of  the  Basin 
on  its  northern  side.  And  in  returning  from  California  along 
the  Spanish  trail,  as  far  as  the  head  of  the  Santa  Clara  fork  of 
the  Rio  Virgen,  I  crossed  only  small  streams  making  theii 
way  south  to  the  Colorado,  or  lost  in  sand,  (as  the  Mo-hah-ve ;) 
while  to  the  left,  lofty  mountains,  their  summits  white  with 
snow,  were  often  visible,  and  which  must  have  turned  water 
to  the  north  as  well  as  to  the  south,  and  thus  constituted,  on 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  403 

this  part,  the  southern  rim  of  the  Basin.  At  the  head  of  the 
Santa  Clara  fork,  and  in  the  Vegas  de  Santa  Clara,  we  crossed 
the  ridge  which  parted  the  two  systems  of  waters.  We  entered 
the  Basin  at  that  point,  and  have  traveled  in  it  ever  since ; 
having  its  southeastern  rim  (the  Wah-satch  mountain)  on  the 
right,  and  crossing  the  streams  which  flow  down  into  it.  The 
existence  of  the  Basin  is,  therefore,  an  established  fact  in  my 
mind  :  its  extent  and  contents  are  yet  to  be  better  ascertained. 
It  cannot  be  less  than  400  or  500  miles  each  way,  and  must 
lie  principally  in  the  Alta  California  ;  the  demarcation  latitude 
of  42°  probably  cutting  a  segment  from  the  north  part  of  the 
rim.  Of  its  interior,  but  little  is  known.  It  is  called  a  desert, 
and,  from  what  I  saw  of  it,  sterility  may  be  its  prominent  char- 
acteristic ;  but  where  there  is  so  much  water,  there  must  be 
some  oasis.  The  great  river,  and  the  great  lake,  reported, 
may  not  be  equal  to  the  report ;  but  where  there  is  so  much 
.now,  there  must  be  streams  ;  and  where  there  is  DO  outlet, 
here  must  be  lakes  to  hold  the  accumulated  waters,  or  sands 
10  swallow  them  up.  In  this  eastern  part  of  the  Basin,  con- 
taining Sevier,  Utah,  and  the  Great  Salt  lakes,  and  the  rivers 
and  creeks  falling  into  them,  we  know  there  is  good  soil  and 
good  grass,  adapted  to  civilized  settlements.  In  the  western 
part,  on  Salmon  Trout  river,  and  some  other  streams,  the  same 
remark  may  be  made. 

The  contents  of  this  great  Basin  are  yet  to  be  examined. 
That  it  is  peopled,  we  know;  but  miserably  and  sparsely. 
From  all  that  I  heard  and  saw,  I  should  say  that  humanity 
here  appeared  in  its  lowest  form,  and  in  its  most  elementary 
state.  Dispersed  in  single  families ;  without  fire-arms  ;  eating 
seeds  and  insects ;  digging  roots,  (and  hence  their  name,) — 
such  is  the  condition  of  the  greater  part.  Others  are  a  degree 
higher,  and  live  in  communities  upon  some  lake  or  river  that 
supplies  fish,  and  from  which  they  repulse  the  miserable  Dig- 
ger.  The  rabbit  is  the  largest  animal  known  in  this  desert ; 
its  flesh  affords  a  little  meat ;  and  their  bag-like  covering  is 
made  of  its  skins.  The  wild  sage  is  their  only  wood,  and  here 
it  is  of  extraordinary  size — sometimes  a  foot  in  diameter,  and 
six  or  eight  feet  high.  It  serves  for  fuel,  for  building  materialj 


404  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MAY, 

for  shelter  to  the  rabbits,  and  for  some  sort  of  covering  for  the 
feet  and  legs  in  cold  weather.  Such  are  the  accounts  of  the 
inhabitants  and  productions  of  the  Great  Basin ;  and  which, 
though  imperfect,  must  have  some  foundation,  and  excite  our 
desire  to  know  the  whole. 

The  whole  idea  of  such  a  desert,  and  such  a  people,  is  a 
novelty  in  our  country,  and  excites  Asiatic,  not  American 
ideas.  Interior  basins,  with  their  own  systems  of  lakes  and 
rivers,  and  often  sterile,  are  common  enough  in  Asia ;  people 
still  in  the  elementary  state  of  families,  living  in  deserts,  with 
no  other  occupation  than  the  mere  animal  search  for  food,  may 
still  be  seen  in  that  ancient  quarter  of  the  globe  ;  but  in  America 
such  things  are  new  and  strange,  unknown  and  unsuspected,  and 
discredited  when  related.  But  I  flatter  myself  that  what  is 
discovered,  though  not  enough  to  satisfy  curiosity,  is  sufficient 
to  excite  it,  and  that  subsequent  explorations  will  complete  what 
has  been  commenced. 

This  account  of  the  Great  Basin,  it  will  be  remembered,  be- 
longs to  the  Alta  California,  and  has  no  application  to  Oregon, 
whose  capabilities  may  justify  a  separate  remark.  Referring 
to  my  journal  for  particular  descriptions,  and  for  sectional 
boundaries  between  good  and  bad  districts,  I  can  only  say,  in 
general  and  comparative  terms,  that,  in  that  branch  of  agricul- 
ture which  implies  the  cultivation  of  grains  and  staple  crops, 
it  would  be  inferior  to  the  Atlantic  States,  though  many  parts 
are  superior  for  wheat;  while  in  the  rearing  of  flocks  and 
herds  it  would  claim  a  high  place.  Its  grazing  capabilities  are 
great ;  and  even  in  the  indigenous  grass  now  there,  an  element 
of  individual  and  national  wealth  may  be  found.  In  fact,  the 
valuable  grasses  begin  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of 
the  Missouri  frontier,  and  extend  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  East 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  it  is  the  short  curly  grass,  on  which 
the  buffalo  delights  to  feed,  (whence  its  name  of  buffalo,)  and 
which  is  still  good  when  dry  and  apparently  dead.  West  of 
those  mountains  it  is  a  larger  growth,  in  clusters,  and  hence 
called  bunch-grass,  and  which  has  a  second  or  fall  growth. 
Plains  and  mountains  both  exhibit  them  ;  and  I  have  seen  good 
pasturage  at  an  elevation  of  ten  thousand  feet.  In  this  sponta- 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  405 

neous  product  the  trading  or  traveling  caravans  can  find  sub- 
sistence for  their  animals  ;  and  in  military  operations  any  num- 
ber of  cavalry  may  be  moved,  and  any  number  of  cattle  may 
be  driven ;  and  thus  men  and  horses  be  supported  on  long  ex- 
peditions, and  even  in  winter,  in  the  sheltered  situations. 

Commercially,  the  value  of  the  Oregon  country  must  be 
great,  washed  as  it  is  by  the  North  Pacific  ocean — fronting 
Asia — producing  many  of  the  elements  of  commerce — mild 
and  healthy  in  its  climate — and  becoming,  as  it  naturally  will. 
a  thoroughfare  for  the  East  India  and  China  trade. 

Turning  our  faces  once  more  eastward,  on  the  morning  of 
the  27th  we  left  the  Utah  lake,  and  continued  for  two  days  to 
ascend  the  Spanish  fork,  which  is  dispersed  in  numerous 
branches  among  very  rugged  mountains,  which  afford  few 
passes,  and  render  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  them  necessary 
to  the  traveler.  The  stream  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  a 
valley,  the  mountains  rising  often  abruptly  from  the  water's 
edge  ;  but  a  good  trail  facilitated  our  traveling,  and  there  were 
frequent  bottoms,  covered  with  excellent  grass.  The  streams 
are  prettily  and  variously  wooded  ;  and  everywhere  the  moun- 
tain shows  grass  and  timber. 

At  our  encampment  on  the  evening  of  the  28th,  near  the 
head  of  one  of  the  branches  we  had  ascended,  strata  of  bitumi- 
nous limestone  were  displayed  in  an  escarpment  on  the  river 
bluffs,  in  which  were  contained  a  variety  of  fossil  shells  of 
new  species. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  in  crossing  this  ridge  about  120 
miles  to  the  northward  in  August  last,  strata  of  fossiliferous 
rock  were  discovered,  which  have  been  referred  to  the  oolitic 
period ;  it  is  probable  that  these  rocks  also  belong  to  the  same 
formation. 

A  few  miles  from  this  encampment  we  reached  the  bed  of 
the  stream,  and  crossing,  by  an  open  and  easy  pass,  the  di- 
viding ridge  which  separates  the  waters  of  the  Great  Basin 
from  those  of  the  Colorado,  we  reached  the  head  branches  of 
one  of  its  larger  tributaries,  which,  from  the  decided  color  of 
its  waters,  has  received  the  name  of  White  river.  The  snows 
of  the  mountains  were  now  beginning  to  melt,  and  all  tne  little 


406  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [MA  , 

rivulets  were  running  by  in  rivers,  and  rapidly  becoming  diffi- 
cult to  ford.  Continuing  a  few  miles  up  a  branch  of  White 
river,  we  crossed  a  dividing  ridge  between  its  waters  and  those 
of  Uintah.  The  approach  to  the  pass,  which  is  the  best  known 
to  Mr.  Walker,  was  somewhat  difficult  for  packs,  and  imprac- 
ticable for  wagons — all  the  streams  being  shut  in  by  narrow 
ravines,  and  the  narrow  trail  along  the  steep  hill-sides  allow- 
ing the  passage  ofonly  one  animal  at  a  time.  From  the  sum- 
mit we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  snowy  Bear  River  range,  and 
there  were  still  remaining  beds  of  snow  on  the  cold  sides  of 
the  hills  near  the  pass.  We  descended  by  a  narrow  ravine, 
in  which  was  rapidly  gathered  a  little  branch  of  the  Uintah, 
and  halted  to  noon  about  1,500  feet  below  the  pass,  at  an  ele- 
vation, by  the  boiling  point,  of  6,900  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  next  day  we  descended  along  the  river,  and  about  noon 
reached  a  point  where  three  forks  come  together.  Fording  one 
of  these  with  some  difficulty,  we  continued  up  the  middle 
branch,  which,  from  the  color  of  its  waters,  is  named  the  Red 
river.  The  few  passes,  and  extremely  rugged  nature  of  the  coun- 
try, give  to  it  great  strength,  and  secure  the  Utahs  from  the  in- 
trusion of  their  enemies.  Crossing  in  the  afternoon  a  somewhat 
broken  highland,  covered  in  places  with  fine  grasses,  and  with 
cedar  on  the  hill-sides,  we  encamped  at  evening  on  another 
tributary  to  the  Uintah,  called  the  Duchesne  fork.  The  water 
was  very  clear,  the  stream  not  being  yet  swollen  by  the  melt- 
ing snows,  and  we  forded  it  without  any  difficulty.  It  is  a 
considerable  branch,  being  spread  out  by  islands,  the  largest 
arm  being  about  a  hundred  feet  wide,  and  the  name  it  bears  is 
probably  that  of  some  old  French  trapper. 

The  next  day  we  continued  down  the  river,  which  we  were 
twice  obliged  to  cross;  and,  the  water  having  risen  during  the 
night,  it  was  almost  everywhere  too  deep  to  be  forded.  Af- 
ter traveling  about  sixteen  miles,  we  encamped  again  on  the 
left  bank. 

I  obtained  here  an  occultation  of  Scorpii  at  the  dark  limb  of 
the  moon,  which  gives  for  the  longitude  of  the  place  112°  18 
30",  and  the  latitude  40°  18'  53". 


1344.]       CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.         407 


JUNE. 

1st. — We  left  to-day  the  Duchesne  fork,  and,  after  travers- 
ing a  broken  country  for  about  sixteen  miles,  arrived  at  noon 
at  another  considerable  branch,  a  river  of  great  velocity,  to 
which  the  trappers  have  improperly  given  the  name  of  Lake 
fork.  The  name  applied  to  it  by  the  Indians  signifies  great 
swiftness,  and  is  the  same  which  they  use  to  express  the  speed 
of  a  racehorse.  It  is  spread  out  in  various  channels  over  sev- 
eral hundred  yards,  and  is  everywhere  too  deep  and  swift  to 
be  forded.  At  this  season  of  the  year,  there  is  an  uninter- 
rupted noise  from  the  large  rocks  which  are  rolled  along  the 
bed.  After  infinite  difficulty,  and  the  delay  of  a  day,  we  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  stream  bridged,  and  got  over  with  the 
loss  of  one  of  our  animals.  Continuing  our  route  across  a 
broken  country,  of  which  the  higher  parts  were  rocky  and 
timbered  with  cedar,  and  the  lower  parts  covered  with  good 
grass,  we  reached,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  3d,  the  Uintah  fort, 
a  trading-post  belonging  to  Mr.  A.  Roubideau,  on  the  princi- 
pal fork  of  the  Uintah  river.  We  found  the  stream  nearly  as 
rapid  and  difficult  as  the  Lake  fork,  divided  into  several  chan- 
nels, which  were  too  broad  to  be  bridged.  With  the  aid  of 
guides  from  the  fort,  we  succeeded,  with  very  great  difficulty, 
in  fording  it,  and  encamped  near  the  fort,  which  is  situated  a 
short  distance  above  the  junction  of  two  branches  which  make 
the  river. 

By  an  immersion  of  the  first  satellite,  (agreeing  well  with 
the  result  of  the  occultation^  observed  at  the  Duchesne  fork,) 
the  longitude  of  the  post  is  109°  56'  42",  the  latitude  40°  27' 
45". 

It  has  a  motley  garrison  of  Canadian  and  Spanish  engages 
and  hunters,  with  the  usual  number  of  Indian  women.  We 
obtained  a  small  supply  of  sugar  and  coffee,  with  some  dried 
meat  and  a  cow,  which  was  a  very  acceptable  change  from  the 
pinoh  on  which  we  had  subsisted  for  some  weeks  past.  I 
strengthened  my  party  at  this  place  by  the  addition  of  Augusts 


408  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

Arcnambeau,  an  excellent  voyageur  and  hunter,  belonging  to 
the  class  of  Carson  and  Godey. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  we  left  the  fort*  and  the  Uintah 
river,  and  continued  our  road  over  a  broken  country,  which 
afforded,  however,  a  rich  addition  to  our  botanical  collection  ; 
and,  after  a  march  of  25  miles,  were  again  checked  by  an- 
other stream,  called  Ashley's  fork,  where  we  were  detained 
until  noon  of  the  next  day. 

An  immersion  of  the  second  satellite  gave  for  this  place  a 
longitude  of  109°  27'  07",  the  latitude,  by  observation,  being 
40°  28'  07". 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  we  succeeded  in  finding  a 
ford  ;  and,  after  traveling  15  miles,  encamped  high  up  on  the 
mountain-side,  where  we  found  excellent  and  abundant  grass, 
which  we  had  not  hitherto  seen.  A  new  species  of  etymus, 
which  had  a  purgative  and  weakening  effect  upon  the  animals, 
had  occurred  abundantly  since  leaving  the  fort.  From  this 
point,  by  observation  7,300  feet  above  the  sea,  we  had  a  view 
of  the  Colorado  below,  shut  up  amongst  rugged  mountains,  and 
which  is  the  recipient  of  all  the  streams  we  had  been  crossing 
since  we  passed  the  rim  of  the  Great  Basin  at  the  head  of  the 
Spanish  fork. 

On  the  7th  we  had  a  pleasant  but  long  day's  journey, 
through  beautiful  little  valleys  and  a  high  mountain  country, 
arriving  about  evening  at  the  verge  of  a  steep  and  rocky  ra- 
vine, by  which  we  descended  to  "  Brown* s  hole."  This  is  a 
place  well  known  to  trappers  in  the  country,  where  the  canons 
through  which  the  Colorado  runs  expand  into  a  narrow  but 
pretty  valley,  about  16  miles  in  length.  The  river  was  sev- 
eral hundred  yards  in  breadth,  swollen  to  the  top  of  its  banks, 
near  to  which  it  was  in  many  places  15  to  20  feet  deep.  We 
repaired  a  skin-boat  which  had  been  purchased  at  the  fort, 
and,  after  a  delay  of  a  day,  reached  the  opposite  banks  with 


*  This  fort  was  attacked  and  taken  by  a  band  of  the  Utah  Indians  since 
we  passed  it,  and  the  men  of  the  garrison  killed — the  women  carried  off. 
Mr.  Roubideau,  a  trader  of  St.  Louis,  was  absent,  and  so  escaped  the  fate 
of  the  rest. 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  409 

much  less  delay  than  had  been  encountered  on  the  Uintah  wa- 
ters. According  to  information,  the  lower  end  of  the  valley  is 
the  most  eastern  part  of  the  Colorado ;  and  the  latitude  of  our 
encampment,  which  was  opposite  to  the  remains  of  an  old  fort 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  was  40°  46'  27",  and,  by  obser- 
vation, the  elevation  above  the  sea  5,150  feet.  The  bearing 
to  the  entrance  of  the  canon  below  was  south  20°  east.  Here 
the  river  enters  between  lofty  precipices  of  red  rock,  and  the 
country  below  is  said  to  assume  a  very  rugged  character,  the 
river  and  its  affluents  passing  through  canons  which  forbid  all 
access  to  the  water.  This  sheltered  little  valley  was  formerly 
a  favorite  wintering  ground  for  the  trappers,  as  it  afforded 
them  sufficient  pasturage  for  their  animals,  and  the  surround- 
ing mountains  are  well  stocked  with  game. 

We  surprised  a  flock  of  mountain  sheep  as  we  descended  to 
the  river,  and  our  hunters  killed  several.  The  bottoms  of  a 
small  stream  called  Vermilion  creek,  which  enters  the  left 
bank  of  the  river  a  short  distance  below  our  encampment, 
were  covered  abundantly  with  F.  vermicularis,  and  other  che- 
nopodiaceous  shrubs.  From  the  lower  end  of  Brown's  hole 
we  issued  by  a  remarkably  dry  canon,  fifty  or  sixty  yards 
wide,  and  rising,  as  we  advanced,  to  the  height  of  six  or  eight 
hundred  feet.  Issuing  from  this,  and  crossing  a  small  green 
valley,  we  entered  another  rent  of  the  same  nature,  still  nar- 
rower than  the  other,  the  rocks  on  either  side  rising  in  nearly 
vertical  precipices  perhaps  1,500  feet  in  height.  These  places 
are  mentioned,  to  give  some  idea  of  the  country  lower  down 
on  the  Colorado,  to  which  the  trappers  usually  apply  the  name 
of  a  canon  country.  The  canon  opened  upon  a  pond  of  wa- 
ter, where  we  halted  to  noon.  Several  flocks  of  mountain 
sheep  were  here  among  the  rocks,  which  rung  with  volleys  of 
small-arms.  In  the  afternoon  we  entered  upon  an  ugly,  bar- 
ren, and  broken  country,  corresponding  well  with  that  we  had 
traversed  a  few  degrees  north,  on  the  same  side  of  the  Colora- 
do. The  Vermilion  creek  afforded  us  brackish  water  and  in- 
different grass  for  the  night. 

A  few  scattered  cedar-trees  were  the  only  improvement  of 
the  country  on  the  following  day  ;  and  at  a  little  spring  of  bad 
18 


410  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JuNE, 

water,  where  we  halted  at  noon,  we  had  not  even  the  shelter 
of  these  from  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun.  At  night  we  encamped 
in  a  fine  grove  of  cottonwood-trees,  on  the  banks  of  the  Elk 
Head  river,  the  principal  fork  of  the  Yampah  river,  commonly 
called  by  the  trappers  the  Bear  river.  We  made  here  a  very 
strong  fort,  and  formed  the  camp  into  vigilant  guards.  The 
country  we  were  now  entering  was  constantly  infested  by 
war  parties  of  the  Sioux  and  other  Indians,  and  is  among  the 
most  dangerous  war-grounds  in  the  Rocky  mountains  ;  parties 
of  whites  having  been  repeatedly  defeated  on  this  river. 

On  the  llth  we  continued  up  the  river,  which  is  a  consider, 
able  stream,  fifty  to  a  hundred  yards  in  width,  handsomely 
and  continuously  wooded  with  groves  of  the  narrow-leaved  cot- 
tonwood,  populus  angustifolia  ;  with  these  were  thickets  of 
willow,  and  grain  du  bceuf.  The  characteristic  plant  along 
the  river  is  jP.  vermicularis,  which  generally  covers  the  bot- 
toms ;  mingled  with  this  are  saline  shrubs  and  artemisia.  The 
new  variety  of  grass  which  we  had  seen  on  leaving  the  Uintah 
fort  had  now  disappeared.  The  country  on  either  side  was 
sandy  and  poor,  scantily  wooded  with  cedars,  but  the  river  bot- 
toms afforded  good  pasture.  Three  antelopes  were  killed  in 
the  afternoon,  and  we  encamped  a  little  below  a  branch  of  the 
river,  called  St.  Vrain's  fork.  A  few  miles  above  was  the  fort 
at  which  Frapp's  party  had  been  defeated  two  years  since  ; 
and  we  passed  during  the  day  a  place  where  Carson  had  been 
fired  upon  so  close  that  one  of  the  men  had  five  bullets  through 
his  body.  Leaving  this  river  the  next  morning,  we  took  our 
way  across  the  hills,  where  every  hollow  had  a  spring  01  run- 
ning water  with  good  grass. 

Yesterday  and  to-day  we  had  before  our  eyes  the  high 
mountains  which  divide  the  Pacific  from  the  Mississippi  wa- 
ters ;  and  entering  here  among  the  lower  spurs  or  foot-hills  of 
the  range,  the  face  of  the  country  began  to  improve  with  a 
magical  rapidity.  Not  only  the  river  bottoms,  but  the  hills 
were  covered  with  grass ;  and  among  the  usual  varied  flora 
of  the  mountain  region,  these  were  occasionally  blue  with  the 
showy  bloom  of  a  lupinus.  In  the  course  of  the  morning  we 
had  the  first  glad  view  of  buffalo,  and  welcomed  the  appear 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  411 

ance  of  two  old  bulls  with  as  much  joy  as  if  they  hftd  been  mes- 
sengers from  home  ;  and  when  we  descended  to  noon  on  St. 
V rain's  fork,  an  affluent  of  Green  river,  the  hunters  brought 
in  mountain  sheep  and  the  meat  of  two  fat  bulls.  Fresh  en- 
trails in  the  river  showed  us  that  there  were  Indians  above, 
and  at  evening,  judging  it  unsafe  to  encamp  in  the  bottoms, 
which  were  wooded  only  with  willow  thickets,  we  ascended 
to  the  spurs  above,  and  forted  strongly  in  a  small  aspen  grove, 
near  to  which  was  a  spring  of  cold  water.  The  hunters  kill- 
ed two  fine  cows  near  the  camp.  A  band  of  elk  broke  out  of 
a  neighboring  grove ;  antelopes  were  running  over  the  hills  ; 
and  on  the  opposite  river-plains  herds  of  buffalo  were  raising 
clouds  of  dust.  The  country  here  appeared  more  variously 
stocked  with  game  than  any  part  of  the  Rocky  mountains  we 
had  visited  ;  and  its  abundance  is  owing  to  the  excellent  pas- 
turage, and  its  dangerous  character  as  a  war-ground. 

13th. — There  was  snow  here  near  our  mountain  camp,  and 
the  morning  was  beautiful  and  cool.  Leaving  St.  Vrain's 
fork,  we  took  our  way  directly  towards  the  summit  of  the  di- 
viding ridge.  The  bottoms  of  the  streams  and  level  places 
were  wooded  with  aspens ;  and  as  we  neared  the  summit,  we 
entered  again  the  piny  region.  We  had  a  delightful  morning's 
ride,  the  ground  affording  us  an  excellent  bridle-path,  and 
reached  the  summit  towards  mid-day,  at  an  elevation  of  8,000 
feet.  With  joy  and  exultation  we  saw  ourselves  once  more 
on  the  top  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  beheld  a  little  stream 
taking  its  course  towards  the  rising  sun.  It  was  an  affluent  of 
the  Platte,  called  Pullam's  fork,  and  we  descended  to  noon 
upon  it.  It  is  a  pretty  stream,  twenty  yards  broad,  and  bears 
the  name  of  a  trapper  who,  some  years  since,  was  killed  here 
by  the  Gros  Ventre  Indians. 

Issuing  from  the  pines  in  the  afternoon  we  saw  spread  out 
before  us  the  valley  of  the  Platte,  with  the  pass  of  the  Medicine 
Butte  beyond,  and  some  of  the  Sweet  Water  mountains  ;  but  a 
smoky  haziness  in  the  air  entirely  obscured  the  Wind  River 
chain. 

We  were  now  about  two  degrees  south  of  the  South  Pass, 
and  our  course  home  would  have  been  eastwardly ;  but  that 


412  CAPT,  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

would  have  taken  us  over  ground  already  examined,  and 
therefore  without  the  interest  that  would  excite  curiosity. 
Southwardly  there  were  objects  worthy  to  be  explored,  to  wit : 
the  approximation  of  the  head-waters  of  three  different  riv- 
ers— the  Platte,  the  Arkansas,  and  the  Grand  River  fork  of 
the  Rio  Colorado  of  the  Gulf  of  California  ;  the  passages  at  the 
heads  of  these  rivers  ;  and  the  three  remarkable  mountain  coves, 
called  Parks,  in  which  they  took  their  rise.  One  of  these 
Parks  was,  of  course,  on  the  western  side  of  the  dividing  ridge ; 
and  a  visit  to  it  would  once  more  require  us  to  cross  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  west,  and  then  to  recross  to 
the  east,  making  in  all,  with  the  transit  we  had  just  accomplish- 
ed, three  crossings  of  that  mountain  in  this  section  of  its  course. 
But  no  matter.  The  coves,  the  heads  of  the  rivers,  the  approxi- 
mation of  their  waters,  the  practicability  of  the  mountain  passes, 
and  the  locality  of  tire  three  Parks,  were  all  objects  of  interest, 
and,  although  well  known  to  hunters  and  trappers,  were  unknown 
to  science  and  to  history.  We  therefore  changed  our  course, 
and  turned  up  the  valley  of  the  Platte  instead  of  going  down  it. 

We  crossed  several  small  affluents,  and  again  made  a  fortified 
camp  in  a  grove.  The  country  had  now  became  very  beauti- 
ful— rich  in  water,  grass,  and  game  ;  and  to  these  were  added 
the  charm  of  scenery  and  pleasant  weather. 

14th. — Our  route  this  morning  lay  along  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  over  the  long  low  spurs  which  sloped  gradually 
down  to  the  river,  forming  the  broad  valley  of  the  Platte. 
The  country  is  beautifully  watered.  In  almost  every  hollow 
ran  a  clear,  cool,  mountain  stream ;  and  in  the  course  of  the 
morning  we  crossed  seventeen,  several  of  them  being  large 
creeks,  forty  to  fifty  feet  wide,  with  a  swift  current,  and  tolera- 
bly deep.  These  were  variously  wooded  with  groves  of  aspen 
and  cotton  wood,  with  willow,  cherry,  and  other  shrubby 
trees.  Buffalo,  antelope,  and  elk,  were  frequent  during 
the  day ;  and,  in  their  abundance,  the  latter  sometimes  re- 
minded us  slightly  of  the  Sacramento  valley. 

We  halted  at  noon  on  Potter's  fork — a  clear  and  swift 
stream,  forty  yards  wide,  and  in  many  places  deep  enough  to 
swim  our  animals ;  and  in  the  evening  encamped  on  a  pretty 


/<844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  413 

stream,  where  there  were  several  beaver  dams,  and  many  trees 
recently  cut  down  by  the  beaver.  We  gave  to  this  the  name 
of  Beaver  Dam  creek,  as  now  they  are  becoming  sufficiently 
rare  to  distinguish  by  their  names  the  streams  on  which  they 
are  found.  In  this  mountain  they  occurred  more  abundantly 
than  elsewhere  in  all  our  journey,  in  which  their  vestiges  had 
been  scarcely  seen. 

The  next  day  we  continued  our  journey  up  the  valley,  the 
country  presenting  much  the  same  appearance,  except  that  the 
grass  was  more  scanty  on  the  ridges,  over  which  was  spread 
a  scrubby  growth  of  sage  ;  but  still  the  bottoms  of  the  creeks 
were  broad,  and  afforded  good  pasture-grounds.  We  had  an 
animated  chase  after  a  grizzly  bear  this  morning,  which  we 
tried  to  lasso.  Fuentes  threw  the  lasso  upon  his  neck,  but  it 
slipped  off,  and  he  escaped  into  the  dense  thickets  of  the  creek, 
into  which  we  did  not  like  to  venture.  Our  course  in  the 
afternoon  brought  us  to  the  main  Platte  river,  here  a  haridsome 
stream,  with  a  uniform  breadth  of  seventy  yards,  except  where 
widened  by  frequent  islands.  It  was  apparently  deep,  with  a 
moderate  current,  and  wooded  with  groves  of  large  willow. 

The  valley  narrowed  as  we  ascended,  and  presently  degen- 
erated into  a  gorge,  through  which  the  river  passed  as  through 
a  gate.  We  entered  it,  and  found  ourselves  in  the  New  Park 
— a  beautiful  circular  valley  of  thirty  miles  diameter,  walled 
in  all  round  with  snowy  mountains,  rich  with  water  and  with 
grass,  fringed  with  pine  on  the  mountain  sides  below  the  snow 
line,  and  a  paradise  to  all  grazing  animals.  The  Indian  name 
for  it  signifies  "  cow  lodge,"  of  which  our  own  may  be  consid- 
ered a  translation ;  the  enclosure,  the  grass,  the  water,  and 
the  herds  of  buffalo  roaming  over  it,  naturally  presenting  the 
idea  of  a  park.  We  halted  for  the  night  just  within  the  gate, 
and  expected,  as  usual,  to  see  herds  of  buffalo;  but  an  Arapa- 
hoe  village  had  been  before  us,  and  not  one  was  to  be  seen. 
Latitude  of  the  encampment  40°  52'  44".  Elevation  by  the 
boiling  point  7,720  feet. 

It  is  from  this  elevated  cove,  and  from  the  gorges  of  the 
surrounding  mountains,  and  some  lakes  within  their  bosoms, 
that  the  Great  Platte  river  collects  its  first  waters,  and  assumes 


414  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

ite  first  form ;  and  certainly  no  river  could  ask  a  more  beauti- 
ful origin. 

16th. — In  the  morning  we  pursued  our  way  through  the 
Park,  following  a  principal  branch  of  the  Platte,  and  crossing, 
among  many  smaller  ones,  a  bold  stream,  scarcely  fordable, 
called  Lodge  Pole  fork,  and  which  issues  from  a  lake  in  the 
mountains  on  the  right,  ten  miles  long.  In  the  evening  we 
encamped  on  a  small  stream  near  the  upper  end  of  the  Park. 
Latitude  of  the  camp  40°  33'  22". 

17th. — We  continued  our  way  among  the  waters  of  the  Park 
over  the  foot-hills  of  the  bordering  mountains,  where  we  found 
good  pasturage,  and  surprised  and  killed  some  buffalo.  We 
fell  into  a  broad  and  excellent  trail,  made  by  buffalo,  where  a 
wagon  would  pass  with  ease ;  and,  in  the  course  of  the  morn- 
ing  we  crossed  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  through  a 
pass  which  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  we  had  ever  seen. 
The  trail  led  among  the  aspens,  through  open  grounds,  richly 
covered  with  grass,  and  carried  us  over  an  elevation  of  about 
9,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  country  appeared  to  great  advantage  in  the  delightful 
summer  weather  of  the  mountains,  which  we  still  continued  to 
enjoy.  Descending  from  the  pass,  we  found  ourselves  again 
on  the  western  waters  ;  and  halted  to  noon  on  the  edge  of 
another  mountain  valley,  called  the  Old  Park,  in  which  is  formed 
Grand  river,  one  of  the  principal  branches  of  the  Colorado 
of  California.  We  were  now  moving  with  some  caution,  as, 
from  the  trail,  we  found  the  Arapahoe  village  had  also  passed 
this  way ;  as  we  were  coming  out  of  their  enemy's  country, 
and  this  was  a  war-ground,  we  were  desirous  to  avoid  them. 
After  a  long  afternoon's  march,  we  halted  at  night  on  a  small 
creek,  tributary  to  a  main  fork  of  Grand  river,  which  ran 
through  this  portion  of  the  valley.  The  appearance  of  the 
country  in  the  Old  Park  is  interesting,  though  of  a  different 
character  from  the  New  ;  instead  of  being  a  comparative  plain, 
it  is  more  or  less  broken  into  hills,  and  surrounded  by  the  high 
mountains,  timbered  on  the  lower  parts  with  quaking  asp  and 
pines. 

18th. — Our  scouts,  who  were  as  usual  ahead,  made  from  a 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  415 

butte  this  morning  the  signal  of  Indians,  and  we  rode  up  in 
time  to  meet  a  party  of  about  30  Arapahoes,  They  were 
men  and  women  going  into  the  hills — the  men  for  game,  the 
women  for  roots — and  informed  us  that  the  village  was  en- 
camped a  few  miles  above,  on  the  main  fork  of  Grand  river, 
which  passes  through  the  midst  of  the  valley.  I  made  them 
the  usual  presents  ;  but  they  appeared  disposed  to  be  unfriendly, 
and  galloped  back  at  speed  to  the  village.  Knowing  that  we 
liad  trouble  to  expect,  I  descended  immediately  into  the  bot- 
loms  of  Grand  river,  which  were  overflowed  in  places,  the 
river  being  up,  and  made  the  best  encampment  the  ground 
afforded.  We  had  no  time  to  build  a  forj,  but  found  an  open 
place  among  the  willows,  which  was  defended  by  the  river  on 
one  side  and  the  overflowed  bottoms  on  the  other.  We  had 
scarcely  made  our  few  preparations,  when  about  200  of  them 
appeared  on  the  verge  of  the  bottom,  mounted,  painted,  and 
armed  for  war.  We  planted  the  American  flag  between  us ; 
and  a  short  parley  ended  in  a  truce,  with  something  more  than 
the  usual  amount  of  presents.  About  20  Sioux  were  with 
them — one  of  them  an  old  chief,  who  had  always  been  friendly 
to  the  whites*  He  informed  me  that,  before  coming  down,  a 
council  had  been  held  at  the  village,  in  which  the  greater  part 
had  declared  for  attacking  us — we  had  come  from  their  ene- 
mies, to  whom  we  had  doubtless  been  carrying  assistance  in 
arms  and  ammunition ;  but  his  own  party,  with  some  few  of 
the  Arapahoes  who  had  seen  us  the  previous  year  in  the  plains, 
opposed  it.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  is  customary  for 
this  people  to  attack  the  trading  parties  which  they  meet  in  this 
region,  considering  all  whom  they  meet  on  the  western  side  of 
the  mountains  to  be  their  enemies.  They  deceived  me  into 
the  belief  that  I  should  find  a  ford  at  their  village,  and  I  could 
not  avoid  accompanying  them  ;  but  put  several  sloughs  between 
us  and  their  village,  and  forted  strongly  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  which  was  everywhere  rapid  and  deep,-  and  over  a 
hundred  yards  in  breadth-  The  camp  was  generally  crowded 
with  Indians ;  and  though  the  baggage  was  carefully  watched 
*nd  covered,  a  number  of  things  were  stolen. 

The  next  morning  we  descended  the  river  for  about  eight 


416  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

miles,  and  halted  a  short  distance  above  a  canon,  through  which 
Grand  river  issues  from  the  Park.  Here  it  was  smooth  and 
deep,  150  yards  in  breadth,  and  its  elevation  at  this  point 
6,700  feet.  A  frame  for  the  boat  being  very  soon  made,  our 
baggage  was  ferried  across ;  the  horses,  in  the  mean  'time, 
swimming  over.  A  southern  fork  of  Grand  river  here  makes 
its  junction,  nearly  opposite  to  the  branch  by  which  we  had 
entered  the  valley,  and  up  this  we  continued  for  about  eight 
miles  in  the  afternoon  and  encamped  in  a  bottom  on  the  left 
bank,  which  afforded  good  grass.  At  our  encampment  it  was 
70  to  90  yards  in  breadth,  sometimes  widened  by  islands,  and 
separated  into  several  channels,  with  a  very  swift  current  and 
bed  of  rolled  rocks. 

On  the  20th  we  traveled  up  the  left  bank,  with  the  prospect 
of  a  bad  road,  the  trail  here  taking  the  opposite  side ;  but  the 
stream  was  up,  and  nowhere  fordable.  A  piny  ridge  of  moun- 
tains, with  bare  rocky  peaks,  was  on  our  right  all  the  day,  and 
a  snowy  mountain  appeared  ahead.  We  crossed  many  foaming 
torrents  with  rocky  beds,  rushing  down  the  river ;  and  in  the 
evening  made  a  strong  fort  in  an  aspen  grove.  The  valley 
had  already  become  very  narrow,  shut  up  more  closely  in 
densely  timbered  mountains,  the  pines  sweeping  down  the  verge 
of  the  bottoms.  The  coq  de  prairie  (tetrao  europhasianus)  was 
occasionally  seen  among  the  sage. 

We  saw  to-day  the  returning  trail  of  an  Arapahoe  party 
which  had  been  sent  from  the  village  to  look  for  Utahs  in  the 
Bayou  Salade,  (South  Park;)  and  it  being  probable  that  they 
would  visit  our  camp  with  the  desire  to  return  on  horseback, 
we  were  more  than  usually  on  the  alert. 

Here  the  river  diminished  to  35  yards,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  number  of  affluents  we  had  crossed,  was  still  a  large 
stream,  dashing  swiftly  by,  with  a  great  continuous  fall,  and 
not  yet  fordable.  We  had  a  delightful  ride  along  a  good  trail 
among  the  fragrant  pines ;  and  the  appearance  of  buffalo  in 
great  numbers  indicated  that  there  were  Indians  in  the  Bayou 
Salade,  (South  Park,)  by  whom  they  were  driven  out.  We 
halted  to  noon  under  the  shade  of  the  pines,  and  the  weather 
was  most  delightful.  The  country  was  literally  alive  with 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  417 

buffalo ;  and  the  continued  echo  of  the  hunters'  rifles  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river  for  a  moment  made  me  uneasy, 
thinking  perhaps  they  were  engaged  with  Indians  ;  but  in 
a  short  time  they  came  into  camp  with  the  meat  of  seven  fat 
cows. 

During  the  earlier  part  of  the  day's  ride,  the  river  had  been 
merely  a  narrow  ravine  between  high  piny  mountains,  backed 
on  both  sides,  but  particularly  on  the  west,  by  a  line  of  snowy 
ridges  ;  but,  after  several  hours'  ride,  the  stream  opened  out 
into  a  valley  with  pleasant  bottoms.  In  the  afternoon  the  river 
forked  into  three  apparently  equal  streams ;  broad  buffalo 
trails  leading  up  the  left  hand,  and  the  middle  branch,  indi- 
cating good  passes  over  the  mountains  ;  but  up  the  right-hand 
branch,  (which,  in  the  object  of  descending  from  the  mountain 
by  the  main  head  of  the  Arkansas,  I  was  most  desirous  to 
follow,)  there  was  no  sign  of  a  buffalo  trace.  Apprehending 
from  this  reason,  and  the  character  of  the  mountains,  which  are 
known  to  be  extremely  rugged,  that  the  right-hand  branch  led 
to  no  pass,  I  proceeded  up  the  middle  branch,  which  formed  a 
flat  valley- bottom  between  timbered  ridges  on  the  left  and 
snowy  mountains  on  the  right,  terminating  in  large  buttes  of 
naked  rock.  The  trail  was  good,  and  the  country  interesting; 
and  at  nightfall  we  encamped  in  an  open  place  among  the 
pines,  where  we  built  a  strong  fort.  The  mountains  exhibit 
their  usual  varied  growth  of  flowers,  and  at  this  place  I  no- 
ticed, among  others,  ihermopsis  mantana,  whose  bright  yellow 
color  makes  it  a  showy  plant.  This  has  been  a  characteristic 
in  many  parts  of  the  country  since  reaching  the  Uintah  waters. 
With  fields  of  iris  were  aquilegia  c&rulea,  violets,  esparcette, 
and  strawberries. 

At  dark  we  perceived  a  fire  in  the  edge  of  the  pines,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  valley.  We  had  evidently  not  been  dis- 
covered, and,  at  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  the  blaze  of  fresh  fuel 
which  was  heaped  on  our  fires,  those  of  the  strangers  were  in- 
stantly extinguished.  In  the  morning,  they  were  found  to  be 
a  party  of  six  trappers,  who  had  ventured  out  among  the  moun- 
tains after  beaver.  They  informed  us  that  two  of  the  number 
with  which  they  had  started  had  been  already  killed  by  the 
18* 


418  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

Indians — one  of  them  but  a  few  days  since — by  the  Arapahoes 
we  had  lately  seen,  who  had  found  him  alone  at  a  camp  on 
this  river,  and  carried  off  his  traps  and  animals.  As  they 
were  desirous  to  join  us,  the  hunters  returned  with  them  to  the 
encampment,  and  we  continued  up  the  valley,  in  which  the 
stream  rapidly  diminished,  breaking  into  small  tributaries — 
every  hollow  affording  water.  At  our  noon  halt,  the  hunters 
joined  us  with  the  trappers.  While  preparing  to  start  from 
their  encampment,  they  found  themselves  suddenly  surrounded 
by  a  party  of  Arapahoes,  who  informed  them  that  their  scouts 
had  discovered  a  large  Utah  village  in  the  Bayou  Salade, 
(South  Park,)  and  that  a  large  war-party,  consisting  of  almost 
every  man  in  the  village,  except  those  who  were  too  old  to  go 
to  war,  were  going  over  to  attack  them.  The  main  body  had 
ascended  the  left  fork  of  the  river,  which  afforded  a  better  pass 
than  the  branch  we  were  on,  and  this  party  had  followed  our 
trail,  in  order  that  we  might  add  our  force  to  theirs.  Carson 
informed  them  that  we  were  too  far  ahead  to  turn  back,  but 
would  join  them  in  the  bayou  ;  and  the  Indians  went  off  ap- 
parently satisfied.  By  the  temperature  of  boiling  water,  our 
elevation  here  was  10,430  feet,  and  still  the  pine  forest  contin- 
ued, and  grass  was  good. 

In  the  afternoon  we  continued  our  road  occasionally  through 
open  pines,  with  a  very  gradual  ascent.  We  surprised  a  herd 
of  buffalo,  enjoying  the  shade  at  a  small  lake  among  the  pines, 
and  they  made  the  dry  branches  crack,  as  they  broke  through 
the  woods.  In  a  ride  of  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and 
having  ascended  perhaps  800  feet,  we  reached  the  summit  of 
the  dividing  ridge,  which  would  thus  have  an  estimated  height 
of  11/200  feet.  Here  the  river  spreads  itself  into  small  branches 
and  springs,  heading  nearly  in  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  which 
is  very  narrow.  Immediately  below  us  was  a  green  valley, 
through  which  ran  a  stream  ;  and  a  short  distance  opposite 
rose  snowy  mountains,  whose  summits  were  formed  into  peaks 
of  naked  rock.  We  soon  afterwards  satisfied  ourselves  that 
immediately  beyond  these  mountains  was  the  main  branch  of 
the  Arkansas  river — most  probably  heading  directly  with  the 
little  stream  below  us,  which  gathered  its  waters  in  the  snowy 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  419 

mountains  near  by.  Descriptions  of  the  rugged  character  of 
the  mountains  around  the  head  of  the  Arkansas,  which  their 
appearance  amply  justified,  deterred  me  from  making  any  at- 
tempt to  reach  it,  which  would  have  involved  a  greater  length 
of  time  than  now  remained  at  my  disposal, 

In  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  we  descended  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Pass  into  the  creek  below,  our  road  having  been  very 
much  controlled  and  interrupted  by  the  pines  and  springs  on 
the  mountain-side.  Turning  up  the  stream,  we  encamped  on 
a  bottom  of  good  grass  near  its  head,  which  gathers  its  waters 
in  the  dividing  crest  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and,  according 
to  the  best  information  we  could  obtain,  separated  only  by  the 
rocky  wall  of  the  ridge  from  the  head  of  the  main  Arkansas 
river.  By  the  observations  of  the  evening,  the  latitude  of  our 
encampment  was  39°  20'  24",  and  south  of  which,  therefore, 
is  the  head  of  the  Arkansas  river.  The  stream  on  which  we 
had  encamped  is  the  head  of  either  the  Fontaine-qui-bouit,  a 
branch  of  the  Arkansas,  or  the  remotest  head  of  the  south  fork 
of  the  Platte,  as  which  you  will  find  it  laid  down  on  the  map. 
But  descending  it  only  through  a  portion  of  its  course,  we  have 
not  been  able  to  settle  this  point  satisfactorily.  In  the  evening 
a  band  of  buffalo  furnished  a  little  excitement,  by  charging 
through  the  camp. 

On  the  following  day  we  descended  the  stream  by  an  excel- 
lent buffalo-trail,  along  the  open  grassy  bottom  of  the  river. 
On  our  right,  the  bayou  was  bordered  by  a  mountainous  range, 
crested  with  rocky  and  naked  peaks ;  and  below,  it  had  a  beau- 
tiful park-like  character  of  pretty  level  prairies,  interspersed 
among  low  spurs,  wooded  openly  with  pine  and  quaking  asp,  con- 
trasting well  with  the  denser  pines  which  swept  around  on  the 
mountain  sides.  Descending  always  the  valley  of  the  stream, 
towards  noon  we  descried  a  mounted  party  descending  the  point 
of  a  spur,  and,  judging  them  to  be  Arapahoes — who,  defeated 
or  victorious,  were  equally  dangerous  to  us,  and  -with  whom 
a  fig-lit  would  be  inevitable — we  hurried  to  post  ourselves  as 
strongly  as  possible  on  some  willow  islands  in  the  river.  We 
had  scarcely  halted  when  they  arrived,  proving  to  be  a  party 
of  Utah  women,  who  told  us  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  ridge 


420  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JUNE, 

their  village  was  fighting  with  the  Arapahoes.  As  soon  as 
they  had  given  us  this  information,  they  filled  the  air  with 
cries  and  lamentations,  which  made  us  understand  that  some 
of  their  chiefs  had  been  Killed. 

Extending  along  the  river,  directly  ahead  of  us,  was  a  low 
piny  ridge,  leaving  between  it  and  the  stream  a  small  open 
bottom,  on  which  the  Utahs  had  very  injudiciously  placed  their 
village,  which,  according  to  the  women,  numbered  about  300 
warriors.  Advancing  in  the  cover  of  the  pines,  the  Arapahoes, 
about  daylight,  charged  into  the  village,  driving  off  a  great 
number  of  their  horses,  and  killing  four  men  ;  among  them,  the 
principal  chief  of  the  village.  They  drove  the  horses  perhaps 
a  mile  beyond  the  village,  to  the  end  of  a  hollow,  where  they 
had  previously  forted,  at  the  edge  of  the  pines.  Here  the 
Utahs  had  instantly  attacked  them  in  turn,  and,  according  to 
the  report  of  the  women,  were  getting  rather  the  best  of  the 
day.  The  women  pressed  us  eagerly  to  join  with  their  people, 
and  would  immediately  have  provided  us  with  the  best  horses 
at  the  village  ;  but  it  was  not  for  us  to  interfere  in  such  a  con- 
flict. Neither  party  were  our  friends,  or  under  our  protection  ; 
and  each  was  ready  to  prey  upon  us  that  could.  But  we  could 
not  help  feeling  an  unusual  excitement  at  being  within  a  few 
hundred  yards  of  a  fight,  in  which  500  men  were  closely  en- 
gaged, and  hearing  the  sharp  cracks  of  their  rifles.  We  were 
in  a  bad  position,  and  subject  to  be  attacked  in  it.  Either 
party  which  we  might  meet,  victorious  or  defeated,  was  certain 
to  fall  upon  us ;  and,  gearing  up  immediately,  we  kept  close 
along  the  pines  of  the  ridge,  having  it  between  us  and  the  vil- 
lage, and  keeping  the  scouts  on  the  summit,  to  give  us  notice 
of  the  approach  of  Indians.  As  we  passed  by  the  village, 
which  was  immediately  below  us,  horsemen  were  galloping  to 
and  fro,  and  groups  of  people  were  gathered  around  those  who 
were  wounded  and  dead,  and  who  were  being  brought  in  from 
the  field.  We  continued  to  press  on,  and,  crossing  another 
fork,  which  came  in  from  the  right,  after  having  made  fifteen 
miles  from  the  village,  fortified  ourselves  strongly  in  the  pines, 
a  short  distance  from  the  river. 

During  the  afternoon,  Pike's  Peak  had  been  plainly  in  view 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  421 

before  us,  and,  from  our  encampment,  bore  N.  87°  E.  by  com- 
pass. This  was  a  familiar  object,  and  it  had  for  us  the  face 
of  an  old  friend.  At  its  foot  were  the  springs,  where  we  had 
spent  a  pleasant  day  in  coming  out.  Near  it  were  the  habita- 
tions of  civilized  men ;  and  it  overlooked  the  broad  smooth 
plains,  which  promised  us  an  easy  journey  to  our  home. 

The  next  day  we  left  the  river,  which  continued  its  course 
towards  Pike's  Peak  ;  and  taking  a  southeasterly  direction,  in 
about  ten  miles  we  crossed  a  gentle  ridge,  and,  issuing  from 
the  South  Park,  found  ourselves  involved  among  the  broken 
spurs  of  the  mountains  which  border  the  great  prairie  plains. 
Although  broken  and  extremely  rugged,  the  country  was  very 
interesting,  being  well  watered  by  numerous  affluents  to  the 
Arkansas  river,  and  covered  with  grass  and  a  variety  of  trees. 
The  streams,  which,  in  the  upper  part  of  their  course,  ran 
through  grassy  and  open  hollows,  after  a  few  miles  all  descend- 
ed into  deep  and  impracticable  canons,  through  which  they 
found  their  way  to  the  Arkansas  valley.  Here  the  buffalo 
trails  we  had  followed  were  dispersed  among  the  hills,  or 
crossed  over  into  the  more  open  valleys  of  other  streams. 

During  the  day  our  road  was  fatiguing  and  difficult,  remind- 
ing us  much,  by  its  steep  and  rocky  character,  of  our  travel- 
ing the  year  before  among  the  Wind  River  mountains ;  but  al- 
ways at  night  we  found  some  grassy  bottom,  which  afforded  us 
a  pleasant  camp.  In  the  deep  seclusion  of  these  little  streams, 
we  found  always  an  abundant  pasturage,  and  a  wild  luxuriance 
of  plants  and  trees.  Aspens  and  pines  were  the  prevailing 
timber :  on  the  creeks  oak  was  frequent ;  but  the  narrow-leaved 
cottonwood,  (populus  angustifoHa,)  of  unusually  large  size,  and 
seven  or  eight  feet  in  circumference,  was  the  principal  tree. 
With  these  were  mingled  a  variety  of  shrubby  trees,  which 
aided  to  make  the  ravines  almost  impenetrable. 

After  several  days'  laborious  traveling,  we  succeeded  in  ex- 
tricating ourselves  from  the  mountains,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  28th  encamped  immediately  at  their  foot,  on  a  handsome 
tributary  to  the  Arkansas  river.  In  the  afternoon  we  descend- 
ed the  stream,  winding  our  way  along  the  bottoms,  which  were 
densely  wooded  with  oak,  and  in  the  evening  encamped  near 


422  CAPT.  FKEJIONT'S  NARKATIVE.  [JUNE, 

the  main  river.  Continuing  the  next  day  our  road  along  the 
Arkansas,  and  meeting  on  the  way  a  war-party  of  Arapahoe 
Indians,  (who  had  recently  been  committing  some  outrages  at 
Bent's  fort,  killing  stock  and  driving  off  horses,)  we  arrived 
before  sunset  at  the  Pueblo,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Fontaine- 
qui-bouil  river,  where  we  had  the  pleasure  to  find  a  number  of 
our  old  acquaintances.  The  little  settlement  appeared  in  a 
thriving  condition ;  and  in  the  interval  of  our  absence  an- 
other had  been  established  on  the  river,  some  thirty  miles 
above. 

On  the  30th  of  June  our  cavalcade  moved  rapidly  down  the 
Arkansas,  along  the  broad  road  which  follows  the  river. 


JULY. 

On  the  1st  of  July  we  arrived  at  Bent's  fort,  about  70  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Fontaine-qui-bouit.  As  we  emerged  into 
view  from  the  groves  on  the  river,  we  were  saluted  with  a  dis- 
play of  the  national  flag,  and  repeated  discharges  from  the  guns 
of  the  fort,  where  we  were  received  by  Mr.  George  Bent  with  a 
cordial  welcome  and  a  friendly  hospitality,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  which  we  spent  several  very  agreeable  days.  We  were 
now  in  the  region  where  our  mountaineers  were  accustomed 
to  live ;  and  all  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  the  road  being 
considered  past,  four  of  them,  including  Carson  and  Walker, 
remained  at  the  fort. 

On  the  5th  we  resumed  our  journey  down  the  Arkansas 
traveling  along  a  broad  wagon-road,  and  encamped  about  20 
miles  below  the  fort.  On  the  way  we  met  a  very  large  village 
of  Sioux  and  Cheyenne  Indians,  who,  with  the  Arapahoes 
were  returning  from  the  crossing  of  the  Arkansas,  where  they 
had  been  to  meet  the  Kioway  and  Camanche  Indians.  A  few 
days  previous  they  had  massacred  a  party  of  fifteen  Dela- 
wares,  whom  they  had  'discovered  in  a  fort  on  the  Smoky  Hill 
river,  losing  in  the  affair  several  of  their  own  people.  They 
were  desirous  that  we  should  bear  a  pacific  message  to  the 


1844. j  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  423 

Del  a  wares  on  the  frontier,  from  whom  they  expected  retalia- 
tion; and  we  passed  through  them  without  any  difficulty  or 
delay.  Dispersed  over  the  plain  in  scattered  bodies  of  horse- 
men, and  family  groups  of  women  and  children,  with  dog- 
trains  carrying  baggage,  and  long  lines  of  pack-horses,  their 
appearance  was  picturesque  arid  imposing. 

Agreeably  to  your  instructions,  which  required  me  to  com- 
plete, as  far  as  practicable,  our  examinations  of  the  Kansas,  I 
left  at  this  encampment  the  Arkansas  river,  taking  a  north- 
easterly direction  across  the  elevated  dividing  grounds  which 
separate  that  river  from  the  waters  of  the  Platte.  On  the  7th 
we  crossed  a  large  stream,  about  forty  yards  wide,  and  one  or 
two  feet  deep,  flowing  with  a  lively  current  on  a  sandy  bed. 
The  discolored  and  muddy  appearance  of  the  water  indicated 
that  it  proceeded  from  recent  rains ;  and  we  are  inclined  to 
consider  this  a  branch  of  the  Smoky  Hill  river,  although,  pos- 
sibly, it  may  be  the  Pawnee  fork  of  the  Arkansas.  Beyond 
this  stream  we  traveled  over  high  and  level  prairies,  halting 
at  small  ponds  and  holes  of  water,  and  us*ing  for  our  fires  the 
lois  de  vache,  the  country  being  without  timber.  On  the 
evening  of  the  8th  we  encamped  in  a  cottonwood  grove  on  the 
banks  of  a  sandy  stream-bed,  where  there  was  water  in  holes 
sufficient  for  the  camp.  Here  several  hollows,  or  dry  creeks 
with  sandy  beds,  met  together,  forming  the  head  of  a  stream 
which  afterwards  proved  to  be  the  Smoky  Hill  fork  of  the 
Kansas  river. 

The  next  morning,  as  we  were  leaving  our  encampment,  a 
number  of  Arapahoe  Indians  were  discovered.  They  belong- 
ed to  a  war-party  which  had  scattered  over  the  prairie  in  re- 
turning from  an  expedition  against  the  Pawnees. 

As  we  traveled  down  the  valley,  water  gathered  rapidly  in 
the  sandy  bed  from  many  little  tributaries ;  and  at  evening  it 
had  become  a  handsome  stream,  fifty  to  eighty  feet  in  width, 
with  a  lively  current  in  small  channels,  the  water  being  prin- 
cipally dispersed  among  quicksands. 

Gradually  enlarging,  in  a  few  days'  march  it  became  a 
river  eighty  yards  in  breadth,  wooded  with  occasional  groves 
of  cottonwood.  Our  road  was  generally  over  level  uplands 


424  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JULY, 

bordering  the  river,  which  were  closely  covered  with  a  sward 
of  buffalo-grass. 

On  the  10th  we  entered  again  the  buffalo  range,  where  we 
had  found  these  animals  so  abundant  on  our  outward  journey, 
and  halted  for  a  day  among  numerous  herds,  in  order  to  make 
a  provision  of  meat  sufficient  to  carry  us  to  the  frontier. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  we  encamped,  in  a  pleasant  even- 
ing, on  a  high  river  prairie,  the  stream  being  less  than  a  hun- 
dred yards  broad.  During  the  night  we  had  a  succession  of 
thunder-storms,  with  heavy  and  continuous  rain,  and  towards 
morning  the  water  suddenly  burst  over  the  banks,  flooding  the 
bottoms  and  becoming  a  large  river,  five  or  six  hundred  yards 
in  breadth.  The  darkness  of  the  night  and  incessant  rain  had 
concealed  from  the  guard  the  rise  of  the  water;  and  the  river 
broke  into  the  camp  so  suddenly,  that  the  baggage  was  in- 
stantly covered,  and  all  our  perisha^1"  --•1|J*»<><|"  tns  almost  en- 
tirely ruined,  and  the  hard  labor  of  many  months  destroyed  in 
a  moment. 

On  the  17th  we  discovered  a  large  village  of  Indians  en- 
camped at  the  mouth  of  a  handsomely  wooded  stream  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river.  Readily  inferring,  from  the  nature 
of  the  encampment,  that  they  were  Pawnee  Indians,  and  con- 
fidently expecting  good  treatment  from  a  people  who  receive 
regularly  an  annuity  from  the  government,  we  proceeded  di- 
rectly to  the  village,  where  we  found  assembled  nearly  all 
the  Parwnee  tribe,  who  were  now  returning  from  the  crossing 
of  the  Arkansas,  where  they  had  met  the  Kioway  and  Ca- 
manche  Indians.  We  were  received  by  them  with  the  un- 
friendly rudeness  and  characteristic  insolence  which  they  never 
fail  to  display  whenever  they  find  an  occasion  for  doing  so 
with  impunity.  The  little  that  remained  of  our  goods  was 
distributed  among  them,  but  proved  entirely  insufficient  to 
satisfy  their  greedy  rapacity ;  and,  after  some  delay,  and  con- 
siderable difficulty,  we  succeeded  in  extricating  ourselves  from 
the  village,  and  encamped  on  the  river  about  15  miles  below.* 

*  In  a  recent  report  to  the  department,  from  Major  Wharton,  who  visit- 
«d  the  Pawnee  villages  with  a  military  force  some  months  afterwards,  it  is 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  425 

The  country  through  which  we  had  been  traveling  since 
leaving  the  Arkansas  river,  for  a  distance  of  260  miles,  pre- 
sented to  the  eye  only  a  succession  of  far-stretching  green 
prairies,  covered  with  the  unbroken  verdure  of  the  buffalo- 
grass,  and  sparingly  wooded  along  the  streams  with  straggling 
trees  and  occasional  groves  of  cottonwood  ;  but  here  the  coun- 
try began  perceptibly  to  change  its  character,  becoming  a 
more  fertile,  wooded,  and  beautiful  region,  covered  with  a 
profusion  of  grasses,  and  watered  with  innumerable  little 
streams,  which  were  wooded  with  oak,  large  elms,  and  the 
usual  varieties  of  timber  common  to  the  lower  course  of  the 
Kansas  river. 

As  we  advanced,  the  country  steadily  improved,  gradually 
assimilating  itself  in  appearance  to  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
state  of  Missouri.  The  beautiful  sward  of  the  buffalo-grass, 
which  is  regarded  as  the  best  and  most  nutritious  found  on  the 
prairies,  appeared  now  only  in  patches,  being  replaced  by  a 
longer  and  coarser  grass,  which  covered  the  face  of  the  coun- 
try luxuriantly.  The  difference  in  the  character  of  the  grasses 
became  suddenly  evident  in  the  weakened  condition  of  our 
animals,  which  began  sensibly  to  fail  as  soon  as  we  quitted  the 
buffalo-grass. 

The  river  preserved  a  uniform  breadth  of  eighty  or  a  hun- 
dred yards,  with  broad  bottoms  continuously  timbered  with 
large  cottonwood-trees,  among  which  were  interspersed  a  few 
other  varieties. 

While  engaged  in  crossing  one  of  the  numerous  creeks  which 
frequently  impeded  and  checked  our  way,  sometimes  obliging 
us  to  ascend  them  for  several  miles,  one  of  the  people  (Alexis 
Ayot)  was  shot  through  the  leg  by  the  accidental  discharge  of 
a  rifle — a  mortifying  and  painful  mischance,  to  be  crippled  for 
life  by  an  accident,  after  having  nearly  accomplished  in  safety 
'a  long  and  eventful  journey.  He  was  a  young  man  of  remark- 


etatad  that  the  Indians  had  intended  to  attack  our  party  during  the  night 
wo  remained  at  this  encampment,  but  were  prevented  by  the  interposition 
of  the  Pawnee  Loups. 


426  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  [JuLY-Auo 

ably  good  and  cheerful  temper,  and  had  been  among  the  use« 
ful  and  efficient  men  of  the  party. 

After  having  traveled  directly  along  its  banks  for  290  miles, 
we  left  the  river,  where  it  bore  suddenly  off  in  a  northwesterly 
direction,  towards  its  junction  with  the  Republican  fork  of  the 
Kansas,  distant  about  60  miles ;  and,  continuing  our  easterly 
course,  in  about  20  miles  we  entered  the  wagon-road  from 
Santa  Fe  to  Independence,  and  on  the  last  day  of  July  en- 
camped again  at  the  little  town  of  Kansas,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Missouri  river. 

During  our  protracted  absence  of  14  mqnths,  in  the  course 
of  which  we  had  necessarily  been  exposed  to  great  varieties  of 
weather  and  of  climate,  not  one  case  of  sickness  had  ever  oc- 
curred among  us. 

Here  ended  our  land  journey  ;  and  the  day  following  our 
arrival,  we  found  ourselves  on  board  a  steamboat  rapidly 
gliding  down  the  broad  Missouri.  Our  travel-worn  animals 
had  not  been  sold  and  dispersed  over  the  country  to  renewed 
labor,  but  were  placed  at  good  pasturage  on  the  frontier,  and 
are  now  ready  to  do  their  part  in  the  coming  expedition. 

On  the  6th  of  August  we  arrived  at  St.  Louis,  where  the 
party  was  finally  disbanded,  a  great  number  of  the  men  having 
their  homes  in  the  neighborhood. 

Andreas  Fuentes  also  remained  here,  having  readily  found 
employment  for  the  winter,  and  is  one  of  the  men  engaged  to 
accompany  me  the  present  year. 

Pablo  Hernandez  remains  in  the  family  of  Senator  Benton, 
where  he  is  well  taken  care  of,  and  conciliates  good-will  by  his 
docility,  intelligence,  and  amiability.  General  Almonte,  the 
Mexican  minister  at  Washington,  to  whom  he  was  of  course 
made  known,  kindly  offered  to  take  charge  of  him,  and  to  carry 
him  back  to  Mexico ;  but  the  boy  preferred  to  remain  where 
he  was  until  he  got  an  education,  for  which  he  shows  equal 
ardor  and  aptitude. 

Our  Chinook  Indian  had  his  wish  to  see  the  whites  fully 
gratified.  He  accompanied  me  to  Washington,  and,  after  re- 
maining several  months  at  the  Columbia  College,  was  sent  by 
the  Indian  department  to  Philadelphia,  where,  among  other 


1844.]  CAPT.  FREMONT'S  NARRATIVE.  427 

things,  he  learned  to  read  and  write  well,  and  speak  the  Eng- 
lish language  with  some  fluency.  He  will  accompany  me  in 
a  few  days  to  the  frontier  of  Missouri,  where  he  will  be  sent 
with  seme  one  of  the  emigrant  companies  to  the  village  at  the 
Dalles  of  the  Columbia. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  C.  FREMONT, 
Bt.  Capt.  Topi.  Engineers. 


GOLD  BEGIONS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


The  "placers"  or  Gold  Mines  of  California,  are  located  in  the  valley  of 
the  Sacramento,  in  the  northern  part  of  that  new  territory.  They  are  all 
on  the  public  lands,  with  the  exception  of  the  portion  belonging  to  Messrs. 
Forbes  and  Sutter.  The  region  which  they  tiinbrace  and  which  J'^s,  accord- 
ing to  authentic  reports,  on  both  sides  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  mu»  JQ  "larger 
than  the  State  of  New  York."  The  mine,*,  it  is  estimated,  »j»  worth  a 
thousand  millions  of  dollars.  The  most  reliable  information  iu  regard  to 
them  may  be  found  in  the  official  reports  communicated  to  the  authorities  at 
Washington,  by  some  of  the  American  officers  rcho  have  visited  the  region. 
The  following  document  is  of  this  nature.  The  author  of  it,  Col.  Mason, 
the  military  commander  in  California,  speaks,  as  will  be  seen,  from  observ- 
ation, and  the  fullest  confidence  may  be  pmced  in  his  account: — 

HEADQUARTERS  I()TH  MILITARY  DEPOT, 

Monterey,  California,  Aug.  17,  1848. 

SIR: — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that,  accompanied  by  Lieut.  W.  T. 
Sherman,  3d  artillery,  A.  A.  A.  General,  I  starred  on  the  12th  of  June  last 
to  make  a  tour  through  the  northern  part  of  California.  My  principal  pur- 
pose, however,  was  to  visit  the  newly-discovered  gold  "placer,"  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Sacramento.  I  had  proceeded  about  forty  miles,  when  I  was 
overtaken  by  an  express,  bringing  me  intelligence  of  the  arrival  at  Monterey 
of  the  U.  S.  ship  Southampton,  with  important  letters  from  Com.  Shubrick 
and  Lieut.  Col.  Barton.  I  returned  at  once  to  Monterey,  and  dispatched 
what  business  was  most  important,  and  on  the  17th  resumed  my  journey. 
We  reached  San  Francisco  on  the  20th,  and  found  that  all,  or  nearly  all,  its 
male  inhabitants  had  gone  to  the  mines.  The  town,  which  a  few  months 
before  was  so  busy  and  thriving,  was  then  almost  deserted. 

On  the  evening  of  the  25th,  the  horses  of  the  escort  were  crossed  to 
Sousoleto  in  a  launch,  and  on  the  following  day  we  resumed  the  journey  by 
way  of  Bodega  and  Sonoma  to  Sutler's  fort,  where  we  arrived  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  2d  of  July.  Along  the  whole  route  mills  were  lying  idle,  fields 
of  wheat  were  open  to  cattle  and  horses,  houses  vacant,  and  farms  going  to 
waste.  At  Sutter's  there  was  more  life  and  business.  Launches  were 
ihscharging  their  cargoes  at  the  river,  and  carts  were  hauling  goods  to  the 


428  GOLD  REGIONS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

fort,  where  already  were  established  several  stores,  a  hotel,  &c.  Captain 
Suiter  had  only  two  mechanics  in  his  employ,  (a  wagon-maker  and  a  black- 
smith,) whom  he  was  then  paying  ten  dollars  a  day.  Merchants  pay  him  a 
monthly  rent  of  $100  per  room;  and  while  I  was  there,  a  two-story  house 
in  the  fort  was  rented  as  a  hotel  for  $500  a  month. 

At  the  urgent  solicitation  of  many  gentlemen,  I  delayed  there  to  partici- 
pate in  the  first  public  celebration  of  our  national  anniversary  at  that  fort, 
but  on  the  5th  resumed  the  journey  and  proceeded  twenty-five  miles  up  the 
American  fork  to  a  point  on  it  now  known  as  the  Lower  Mines,  or  Mormon 
Diggings.  The  hill-sides  were  thickly  strewn  with  canvas  tents  and  bush 
arbors;  a  store  was  erected,  and  several  boarding  shanties  in  operation.  The 
day  was  intensely  hot,  yet  about  two  hundred  men  were  at  work  in  the  full 
glare  of  the  sun,  washing  for  gold  —  some  with  tin  pans,  some  with  close- 
woven  Indian  baskets,  but  the  greater  part  had  a  rude  machine,  known  as  the 
cradle.  This  is  on  rockers,  six  or  eight  feet  long,  open  at  the  foot,  and  at 
its  head  has  a  coarse  grate,  or  sieve;  the  bottom  is  rounded,  with  small 
elects  nailed  across.  Four  men  are  required  to  work  this  machine:  one  digs 
the  ground  in  the  bank  close  by  the  stream;  another  carries  it  to  the  cradle 
and  empties  it  on  the  grate;  a  third  gives  a  violent  rocking  motion  to  the 
machine;  while  a  fourth  dashes  on  water  from  the  stream  itself. 

The  sieve  keeps  the  coarse  stones  from  entering  the  cradle,  the  current  of 
water  washes  off  the  earthy  matter,  and  the  gravel  is  gradually  carried  out 
at  the  foot  of  the  machine,  leaving  the  gold  mixed  with  a  heavy  fine  black 
sand  above  the  first  cleets.  The  sand  and  gold  mixed  together  are  then 
drawn  off  through  auger  holes  into  a  pan  below,  are  dried  in  the  sun,  and 
afterwards  separated  by  blowing  off  the  sand.  A  party  of  four  men  thug 
employed  at  the  lower  mines  averaged  $100  a  day.  The  Indians,  and 
those  who  have  nothing  but  pans  or  willow  baskets,  gradually  wash  out  the 
earth  and  separate  the  gravel  by  hand,  leaving  nothing  but  the  gold  mixed 
with  sand,  which  is  separated  in  the  manner  before  described.  The  gold  in 
the  lower  mines  is  in  fine  bright  scales,  of  which  I  send  several  specimens. 

As  we  ascended  the  north  branch  of  the  American  fork,  the  country 
became  more  broken  and  mountainous,  and  at  the  saw-mill,  25  miles  above 
the  lower  washings,  or  50  miles  from  Sutler's,  the  hills  rise  to  about  a  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  level  of  the  Sacramento  plain.  Here  a  species  of  pine 
occurs  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  gold.  Capt  Suiter,  feeling  the 
great  want  of  lumber,  contracted  in  September  last  with  a  Mr.  Marshall  to 
build  a  saw-mill  at  that  place.  It  was  erected  in  the  course  of  the  past  winter 
and  spring — a  dam  and  race  constructed;  but  when  the  water  was  let  on 
the  wheel,  the  tail-race  was  found  to  be  too  narrow  to  permit  the  water  to 
escape  with  sufficient  rapidity.  Mr.  Marshall,  to  save  labor,  let  the  water 
directly  into  the  race  with  a  strong  current,  so  as  to  wash  it  wider  and 
deeper.  He  effected  his  purpose,  and  a  large  bed  of  mud  and  gravel  was 
carried  to  the  foot  of  the  race. 

One  da£  Mr.  Marshall,  as  he  was  walking  down  the  race  to  this  deposit 
of  mud,  observed  some  glittering  particles  at  its  upper  edge;  he  gathered  a 
few,  examined  them,  and  became  satisfied  of  their  value.  He  then  went 
to  the  fort,  told  Capt.  Sutter  of  his  discovery,  and  they  agreed  to  keep  it 
secret  until  a  certain  grist-mill  of  Suiter's  was  finished.  It,  however,  got 
out,  and  spread  like  magic.  Remarkable  success  attended  the  labors  of  the 
first  explorers,  and  in  a  few  weeks  hundreds  of  men  were  drawn  fhither 
At  the  time  of  my  visit,  but  little  over  three  months  after  the  first  discovery, 
it  was  estimated  that  upwards  of  four  thousand  people  were  employed.  At 
the  mill  there  is  a  fine  deposit  or  bank  of  gravel,  which  the  people  respect 


COL.  MASON'S  OFFICIAL  REPORT.  429 

%s  the  property  of  Captain  Sutter,  although  he  pretends  to  no  right  to  it,  and 
would  be  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  simple  promise  of  a  pre-emption,  on 
account  of  the  mill  which  he  has  built  there  at  considerable  cost.  Mr. 
Mai-shall  was  living  near  the  mill,  and  informed  me  that  many  persons  were 
employed  above  and  below  him;  that  they  used  the  same  machines  at  the 
lower  washings,  and  that  their  success  was  about  the  same  —  ranging  from 
one  to  three  ounces  of  gold  per  man  daily.  This  gold,  too,  is  iu  scales  a 
little  coarser  than  those  of  the  lower  mines. 

From  the  mill  Mr.  Marshall  guided  me  up  the  mountain  on  the  opposite 
or  north  bank  of  the  south  fork,  where,  in  the  bed  of  small  streams  or  ravines, 
now  drv,  a  great  deal  of  coarse  gold  has  been  found.  I  there  saw  several 
parties  at  work,  all  of  whom  were  doing  very  well;  a  great  many  specimens 
were  shown  rne,  some  as  heavy  as  four  or  five  ounces  in  weight,  and  I  send 
three  pieces  labelled  No.  5,  presented  by  a  Mr.  Spence.  You  will  perceive 
that  some  of  the  specimens  accompanying  this,  hold  mechanically  pieces  of 
quartz;  that  the  surface  is  rough  and  evidently  moulded  in  the  crevice  of  a 
rock.  This  gold  cannot  have  been  carried  far  by  water,  but  must  have  re- 
mained near  where  it  was  first  deposited  from  the  rock  that  once  bound  it. 
I  inquired  of  many  people  if  they  had  encountered  the  metal  in  its  matrix,  but 
in  every  instance  they  said  they  had  not;  but  that  the  gold  was  invariably 
mixed  with  washed  gravel  or  lodged  in  the  crevices  of  other  rocks.  All  bore 
testimony  that  they  had  found  gold  in  greater  or  less  quantities  in  the  numer- 
ous small  gullies  or  ravines  that  occur  in  that  mountainous  region. 

On  the  7th  of  July  I  left  the  mill,  and  crossed  to  a  stream  emptying  into 
the  American  fork,  three  or  four  miles  below  the  saw  mill.  I  struck  this 
stream  (now  known  as  Weber's  creek)  at  the  washings  of  Sunol  &  Co. 
They  had  about  thirty  Indians  employed,  whom  they  payed  in  merchandise. 
They  were  getting  gold  of  a  character  similar  to  that  found  on  the  main 
fork,  and  doubtless  in  sufficient  quantities  to  satisfy  them.  I  send  you  a 
small  specimen,  presented  by  this  company,  of  their  gold.  From  this  point 
we  proceeded  up  the  stream  about  eight  miles,  where  we  found  a  great  many 
people  and  Indians — some  engaged  in  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  others  in 
the  small  side  valleys -that  put  into  it.  These  latter  are  exceedingly  rich,  and 
two  ounces  were  considered  an  ordinary  yield  for  a  day's  work.  A  small 
gutter,  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  long  by  four  feet  wide  and  two  or 
three  feet  deep,  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  the  one  where  two  men — William 
Daly  and  Pa  TV  McCoon — had,  a  short  time  before,  obtained  17,000  dollars 
worth  of  gold.  Capt.  Weber  informed  me  that  he  knew  that  these  two  men 
had  employed  four  white  men  and  about  a  hundred  Indians,  and  that  at  the 
end  of  one  week's  work,  they  paid  off  their  party,  and  had  left  $10,000 
worth  of  this  gold.  Another  small  ravine  was  shown  me,  from  which  had 
been  taken  upwards  of  $12,000  worth  of  gold.  Hundreds  of  similar  ravines 
to  all  appearances  are  as  yet  untouched.  1  could  not  have  credited  these  re- 
ports had  1  not  seen,  in  the  abundance  of  the  precious  metal,  evidence  of 
their  truth. 

Mr.  Neligh,  an  agent  of  Commodore  Stockton,  had  been  at  work  about 
three  weeks  in  the  neighborhood,  and  showed  me  in  bags  and  bottles  over 
$•2,000  worth  of  gold;  and  Mr.  Lyman,  a  gentleman  of  education  and  worthy 
of  every  credit,  said  he  had  been  engaged  with  four  others,  with  a  machine, 
on  the  American  fork,  just  below  Slitter's  mill;  that  they  worked  eight  days, 
and  that  his  share  was  at  the  rate  of  $50  a  day;  but  hearing  that  others 
were  doing  better  at  Weber's  place  they  had  removed  there,  and  were  then 
on  flie  point  of  resuming  operations,  i  might  tell  of  hundreds  of  similar 
instances;  but  to  illustrate  how  plentiful  the  gold  was  in  the  pockets  of  com- 


4SO     .  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

mon  laborers,  I  will  mention  a  simple  occurrence  which  took  place  in  my 
presence  when  I  was  at  Weber's  store.  This  store  was  nothing  but  an  arbor 
of  bushes,  under  whicli  he  had  exposed  for  sale  goods  and  groceries  suited 
to  his  customers.  A  man  came  in,  picked  up  a  box  of  Seidlitz  powders  and 
asked  the  price.  Captain  Weber  told  him  it  was  not  for  sale.  The  man 
offered  an  ounce  of  gold,  but  Capt.  Weber  told  it  only  cost  fifty  cents,  and 
he  did  not  wish  to  sell  it.  The  the  man  then  offered  an  ounce  and  a  half, 
when  Capt.  Weber  had  to  take  it.  The  prices  of  all  things  are  high,  and 
yet  Indians,  who  before  hardly  knew  what  a  breech  cloth  was,  can  now 
afford  to  buy  the  most  gaudy  dresses. 

The  country  on  either  side  of  Weber's  creek  is  much  broken  up  by  hills, 
and  is  intersected  in  every  direction  by  small  streams  or  ravines,  which  con- 
tain more  or  less  gold.  Those  that  have  been  worked  are  barely  scratched; 
and  although  thousands  of  ounces  have  been  carried  away,  I  do  not  consider 
that  a  serious  impression  has  been  made  upon  the  whole.  Every  day  was 
developing  new  and  richer  deposits;  and  the  only  impression  seemed  to  be, 
that  the  metal  would  be  found  in  such  abundance  as  seriously  to  depreciate 
in  value, 

On  the  8th  of  July  1  returned  to  the  lower  mines,  and  on  the  following 
day  to  Sutler's,  where,  on  the  19th.  I  was  making  preparations  for  a  visit  to 
the  Feather,  Yubah,  and  Bear  rivers,  when  I  received  a  letter  from  Com- 
mander A.  R.  Long,  United  States  Navy,  who  had  just  arrived  at  San 
Francisco  from  Mazatlan,  with  a  crew  for  the  sloop-of-war  Warren,  with 
orders  to  take  that  vessel  to  the  squadron  at  La  Paz.  Capt.  Long  wrote  to  me 
that  the  Mexican  Congress  had  adjourned  without  ratifying  the  treaty  of 
peace,  that  he  had  letters  from  Commodore  Jones,  and  that  his  orders  were 
to  sail  with  the  Warren  on  or  before  the  20th  of  July.  In  consequence  of 
this  I  determined  to  return  to  Monterey,  and  accordingly  arrived  here  on  the 
17th  of  July.  Before  leaving  Slitter's  I  satisfied  myself  that  gold  existed  in 
the  bed  of  the  Feather  river,  in  the  Yubah  and  Bear,  and  in  many  of  the 
smaller  streams  that  lie  between  the  latter  and  the  American  fork;  also  that 
it  had  been  found  in  the  Cosummes  to  the  south  of  the  American  fork.  In 
each  of  these  streams,  the  gold  is  found  in  small  scales,  whereas  in  the  in- 
tervening mountains  it  occurs  in  coarser  lumps. 

Mr.  Sinclair,  whose  rancho  is  three  miles  above  Slitter's  on  the  north  side 
of  the  American,  employs  about  fifty  Indians  on  the  north  fork,  not  far  from 
its  junction  with  the  main  stream.  "He  had  been  engaged  about  five  weeks 
when  I  saw  him,  and  up  to  that  time  his  Indians  had  used  simply  closely 
woven  willow  baskets.  His  nett  proceeds  (which  I  saw)  were  aU>ut  $16,000 
worth  of  gold.  He  showed  me  the  proceeds  of  his  last  week's  work — four- 
teen pounds  avoirdupois  of  clean-washed  gold. 

The  principal  store  at  Suiter's  Fort,  that  of  Brannan  &  Co.,  had  received 
in  payment  for  goods  $36,000  (worth  of  this  gold)  from  the  1st  of  May  to 
the  10th  of  July.  Other  merchants  had  also  made  extensive  sales.  Large 
quantities  of  goods  were  daily  sent  forward  to  the  mines,  as  the  Indians, 
heretofore  so  poor  and  degraded,  have  suddenly  become  consumers  of  the 
luxuries  of  life.  I  before  mentioned  that  the  greater  part  of  the  farmers  and 
rancheros  had  abandoned  their  fields  to  go  to  the  mines.  This  is  not  the 
case  with  Capt.  Suiter,  who  was  carefully  gathering  his  wheat,  estimated  at 
40,000  bushels.  Flour  is  already  worth  at  Suiter's  $36  a  barrel,  and  soon 
will  be  fifty.  Unless  large  quantities  of  breadstuffs  reach  the  country,  much 
suffering  will  occur;  but  as  each  man  is  now  able  to  pay  a  large  price,  it  is 
believed  the  merchants  will  bring  from  Chili  and  Oregon  a  plentiful  supply 
for  the  coming  winter. 


COL.  MASON'S  OFFICIAL  REPORT.  431 

The  most  moderate  estimate  1  could  obtain  from  men  acquainted  with  the 
subject,  was,  that  upwards  of  four  thousand  men  were  working  in  the  gold 
district,  of  whom  more  than  one-half  were  Indians;  and  that  from  $30,1)00 
to  $50,000  worth  of  gold,  if  not  more,  was  daily  obtained.  The  entire  gold 
district,  with  very  few  exceptions  of  grants  made  some  years  ago  by  the 
Mexican  authorities,  is  on  land  belonging  to  the  United  States.  It  was  a 
matter  of  serious  reflection  with  me,  how  I  could  secure  to  the  Government 
certain  rents  and  fees  for  the  privilege  of  procuring  this  gold;  but  upon  con- 
sidering the  large  extent  of  country,  the  character  of  the  people  engaged, 
and  the  small  scattered  force  at  my  command,  I  resolved  not  to  interfere  but 
to  permit  all  to  work  freely,  unless  broils  and  crimes  should  call  for  interfer- 
ance.  I  was  surprised  to  learn  that  crime  of  any  kind  was  very  unfrequent, 
and  that  no  thefts  or  robberies  had  been  committed  in  the  gold  district 

All  live  in  tents,  in  bush  arbors,  or  in  the  open  air;  and  men  have  fre- 
quently about  their  persons  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  this  gold,  and  it 
was  to  me  a  matter  of  surprise  that  so  peaceful  and  quiet  state  of  things 
ehould  continue  to  exist.  Conflicting  claims  to  particular  spots  of  ground 
may  cause  collisions,  but  they  will  be  rare,  as  the  extent  of  country  is  so 
great,  and  the  gold  so  abundant,  that  for  the  present  there  is  room  enough 
for  all.  Still  the  Government  is  entitled  to  rents  for  this  land,  and  imme- 
diate steps  should  be  devised  to  collect  them,  for  the  longer  it  is  delayed  the 
more  difficult  it  will  become.  One  plan  I  would  suggest  is,  to  send  out  from 
the  United  States  surveyors  with  high  salaries,  bound  to  serve  specified 
periods. 

A  superintendant  to  be  appointed  at  Suiter's  Fort,  with  power  to  grant 
licenses  to  work  a  spot  of  ground  —say  100  yards  square  —  for  one  year,  at 
a  rentef  from  100  to  1,000  dollars,  at  his  discretion;  the  surveyors  to  meas- 
ure the  Aground,  and  place  the  rentor  in  possession. 

A  better  plan,  however,  will  be  to  have  thf  district  surveyed  and  sold  at 
public  auction  to  the  highest  bidder,  in  small  parcels — say  from  20  to  40 
acre-.  In  either  case,  there  will  be  many  intruders,  whom  for  years  it  will 
be  almost  impossible  to  exclude. 

The  discovery  of  these  vast  deposits  of  gold  has  entirely  changed  the 
character  of  Upper  California.  Its  people,  before  engaged  in  cultivating 
their  small  patches  of  ground,  and  guarding  their  herds  of  cattle  and  horses, 
have  all  gone  to  the  mines,  or  are  on  their  way  thither.  Laborers  of  every 
trade  have  left  their  work  benches,  and  tradesmen  their  shops.  Sailors 
desert  their  ships  as  fast  as  they  arrive  on  the  coast,  and  several  vessels  have 
gone  to  sea  with  hardly  enough  hands  to  spread  a  sail.  Two  or  three  are 
now  at  anchor  in  San  Francisco  with  no  crew  on  board.  Many  desertions, 
too,  have  taken  placs  from  the  garrisons  within  the  influence  of  these  mines; 
twenty-six  soldiers  have  deserted  from  the  post  of  Sonoma,  twenty-four  from 
that  of  San  Francisco,  and  twenty-four  from  Monterey.  For  a  few  days 
the  evil  appeared  so  threatening,  that  great  danger  existed  that  the  garrisons 
would  leave  in  a  body;  and  I  refer  you  to  my  orders  of  the  25th  of  July,  to 
show  the  steps  adopted  to  met  this  contingency.  I  shall  spare  no  exertions 
to  apprehend  and  punish  deserters,  but  I  believe  no  time  in  the  history 
of  our  country  has  presented  such  temptations  to  desert  as  now  exist  in 
California. 

The  danger  of  apprehension  is  small,  and  the  prospect  of  high  wag-es 
certain;  pay  and  bounties  are  trifles,  as  laboring  men  at  the  mines  can  now 
earn  in  one  day  morathan  double  a  soldier's  pay  and  allowances  for  a  month, 
and  even  the  pay  of  a  lieutenant  or  captain  cannot  hire  a  servant.  A  car- 
penter or  mechanic  would  not  listen  to  an  offer  of  lew  than  fifteen  or  twenty 


432  GOLD    REGIONS    OP    CALIFORNIA. 

dollars  a  day.  Could  any  combination  of  affairs  try  a  man's  fidelity  more 
than  this  ?  I  really  think  some  extraordinary  mark  of  favor  should  be  given 
to  those  soldiers  who  remain  faithful  to  their  flag  throughout  this  tempting 
crisis.  No  officer  can  now  live  in  California  on  his  pay,  money  has  so  little 
value;  the  prices  of  necessary  articles  of  clothing  and  subsistence  are  so 
exorbitant  and  labor  so  high,  that  to  hire  a  cook  or  servant  has  become  an 
impossibility,  save  to  those  who  are  earning  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars  a  day. 
This  state  of  things  cannot  last  for  ever.  Yet  from  the  geographical  position 
of  California,  and  the  new  character  it  has  assumed  as  a  mining  country, 
prices  of  'abor  will  always  be  high,  and  will  hold  out  temptations  to  desert. 
I  therefore  have  to  report,  if  the  Government  wish  to  prevent  desertions 
here  on  the  pa  4  of  men,  and  to  secure  zeal  on  the  part  of  officers,  their  pay 
must  be  increased  very  materially.  Soldiers,  both  of  the  volunteers  and 
regular  service,  dscharged  in  this  country,  should  be  permitted  at  once  to 
locate  their  land  warrants  in  the  gold  district. 

Many  private  letters  have  gone  to  the  United  States  giving  accounts  of 
the  vast  quantity  of  gold  recently  discovered,  and  it  may  be  a  matter  of 
surprise  why  I  have  made  no  report  on  this  subject  at  an  earlier  date.  The 
reason  is,  that  1  could  not  bring  myself  to  believe  the  reports  that  I  heard  of 
the  wealth  of  the  gold  district  until  I  visited  it  myself.  1  have  no  hesitation 
now  in  saying  that  there  is  more  gold  in  the  country  drained  by  the  Sacra- 
mento and"  San  Joaquin  rivers  than  will  pay  the  cost  of  the  present  war  with 
Mexico  a  hundred  times  over.  No  capital  is  required  to  obtain  this  gold, 
as  the  laboring  man  wants  nothing  but  his  pick  and  shovel  and  tin  pan, 
with  which  to  dig  and  wash  the  gravel;  and  many  frequently  pick  gold  out 
of  the  crevices  of  rocks  with  their  butcher  knives  in  pieces  from  one  to  six 
ounces. 

Mr.  Dye,  a  gentleman  residing  in  Monterey,  and  worthy  of  every  credit, 
has  just  returned  from  Feather  river.  He  tells  me  that  the  company  to 
which  he  belonged  worked  seven  weeks  and  two  days,  with  an  average  of 
fifty  Indians  (washers,)  and  that  their  gross  product  was  273  pounds  of  gold. 
His  share  (one  seventh,)  after  paying  all  expenses,  is  about  thirty-seven 
pounds,  which  he  brought  with  him  and  exhibited  in  Monterey.  1  see  no 
laboring  man  from  the  mines  who  does  not  show  his  two,  three,  or  four 
pounds  of  gold.  A  soldier  of  the  artillery  company  returned  here  a  few 
days  ago  from  the  mines,  having  been  absent  on  furlough  twenty  days.  He 
made  by  trading  and  working  during  that  time  $1500.  During  these 
twenty  days  he  was  traveling  ten  or  eleven  days,  leaving  but  a  week,  in 
which  he  made  a  sum  of  money  greater  than  he  receives  in  pay,  clothes, 
and  rations  during  a  whole  enlistment  of  five  years.  These  statements 
appear  incredible,  but  they  are  true. 

Gold  is  also  believed  to  exist  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada; 
and  when  at  the  mines,  I  was  informed  by  an  intelligent  Mormon,  that  it  had 
been  found  near  the  Great  Salt  lake  by  some  of  his  fraternity.  Nearly  all 
the  Mormons  are  leaving  California  to  go  to  the  Salt  lake,  and  this  they 
surely  would  not  do  unless  they  were  sure  of  finding  gold  there  in  the  same 
abundance  as  they  now  do  on  the  Sacramento. 

The  gold  "  placer"  near  the  mission  of  San  Fernando  has  long  been 
known,  but  has  been  little  wrought  for  want  of  water.  This  is  a  spur  which 
puts  off  from  the  Sierra  Nevada,  (see  Fremont's  map,)  the  same  in  which 
the  present  mines  occur.  There  is,  therefore,  every  reason  to  believe,  that 
in  the  intervening  spaces  of  500  miles,  (entirely  unexplored,)  there  must  be 
many  hidden  and  rich  deposits.  The  "  placer"  gold  is  now  substituted  as 
the  currency  of  this  country;  in  trade  it  passes  freely  at  $16  per  ounce;  as 


COL.  MASON'S  OFFICIAL  REPORT.  433 

an  article  of  commerce  its  value  is  not  yet  fixed.  The  only  purchase  I  made 
was  of  the  specimen  No.  7,  which  I  got  of  Mr.  Neligh  at  $12  the  ounce. 
That  is  about  the  present  cash  value  in  the  country,  although  it  has  been 
sold  for  less.  The  great  demand  for  goods  and  provisions  made  by  sudden 
development  of  wealth,  has  increased  the  amount  of  commerce  at  San  Fran- 
cisco very  much,  and  it  will  continue  to  increase. 

I  would  recommend  that  a  mint  be  established  at  some  eligible  point  of 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco;  and  that  machinery,  and  all  the  iiecesssary  ap- 
paratus* and  workmen,  be  sent  out  by  sea.  These  workmen  must  be  bound 
by  high  wages,  and  even  bonds,  to  secure  their  faithful  services,  else  the 
whole  plan  may  be  frustrated  by  their  going  to  the  mines  as  soon  as  they 
arrive  in  California  If  this  course  be  not  adopted,  gold  to  the  amount  of 
many  millions  of  dollars  will  pass  yearly  to  other  countries,  to  enrich  their 
merchants  and  capitalists.  Before  leaving  the  subject  of  mines,  1  will  men- 
tion that  on  my  return  from  the  Sacramento,  I  touched  at  New  Almoder, 
the  quicksilver  mine  of  Mr.  Alexander  Forbes,  Consul  of  Her  Britannic 
Majesty  at  Tepic.  This  mine  is  in  a  spur  of  the  mountains,  1000  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  is  distant  in  a  southern  direction 
from  the  Puebla  de  San  Jose  about  twelve  miles.  The  ore  (cinnabar)  occurs 
in  a  large  vein  dipping  at  a  strong  angle  to  the  horizon.  Mexican  miners 
are  employed  in  working  it,  by  driving  shafts  and  galleries  about  six  feet  by 
seven,  following  the  vein. 

The  fragments  of  rock  and  ore  are  removed  on  the  backs  of  Indians,  in 
raw-hide  sacks.  The  ore  is  then  hauled  in  an  ox  wagon,  from  the  mouth 
of  the  mine  down  to  a  valley  well  supplied  with  wood  and  water,  in  which 
the  furnaces  are  situated.  The  furnaces  are  of  the  simplest  construction—- 
exactly like  a  common  bake-oven,  in  the  crown  of  which  is  inserted  a 
whaler's  frying-kettle;  another  inverted  kettle  forms  the  lid.  From  a  hole 
in  the  lid  a  small  brick  channel  leads  to  an  apartment  or  chamber,  in  the 
bottom  of  which  is  inserted  a  small  iron  kettle.  The  chamber  has  a  chimney. 

In  the  morning  of  each  day  the  kettles  are  filled  with  the  mineral  (broken 
in  small  pieces)  mixed  with  lime;  fire  is  then  applied  and  kept  up  all  day. 
The  mercury  is  volatilized,  passes  into  the  chamber,  is  condensed  on  the 
sides  and  bottom  of  the  chamber,  and  flows  into  the  pot  prepared  for  it  No 
water  is  used  to  condense  the  mercury. 

During  a  visit  I  made  last  spriag,  four  such  ovens  were  in  operation,  and 
yielded  in  the  two  days  I  was  there  656  pounds  of  quicksilver,  worth  at 
Mazatlan  $1  80  per  pound.  Mr.  Walkinshaw,  the  gentleman  now  in  charge 
of  this  mine,  tells  me  that  the  vein  is  improving,  and  that  he  can  afford  to 
keep  his  people  employed  even  in  these  extraordinary  times.  The  mine  is 
very  valuable  of  itself,  and  will  become  the  more  so  as  mercury  is  exten- 
sively used  in  obtaining  gold.  It  is  not  at  present  used  in  California  for  that 
purpose,  but  will  be  at  some  future  time.  When  I  was  at  this  mine  last 
spring,  other  parties  were  engaged  in  searching  for  veins;  but  none  have 
been  discovered  worth  following  up,  although  the  earth  in  that  whole  range 
of  hills  is  highly  discolored,  indicating  the  presence  of  this  ore.  I  send 
several  beautiful  specimens,  properly  labelled.  The  amount  of  quicksilver 
in  Mr.  Forbes'  vats  on  the  15th  of  July  was  about  2,500  pounds. 

I  inclose  you  herewith  sketches  of  the  country  through  which  I  passed, 
indicating  the  position  of  the  mines  and  the  topography  of  the  country  in  the 
vicinity  of  those  I  visited. 

Some  of  the  specimens  of  gold  accompanying  this  were  presented  for 
transmission  to  the  Department  by  the  gentlemen  named  below.  The 

19 


434  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFOKSIA. 

numbers  on  the  topographical  sketch  corresponding  to  the  labels  of  the  re- 
spective specimens,  show  from  what  part  of  the  gold  region  they  are  obtained. 

1.  Captain  J.  A.  Sutler. 

'2.  John  Sinclair. 

3.  Wm.  Glover,  R.  C.  Kirby,  Ira  Blanchard,  Levi  Fifield,  Franklin  11. 
Arynes,  Mormon  diggings. 

4  Charles  Weber. 

5  Robert  Spence. 

6.  Sunol  &  Co. 

7.  Robert  D.  Neligh. 

8.  C.  E.  Picket,  American  Fort  Columa. 

9.  E.  C.  Kemble. 

10.  T.  H.  Green,  from  San  Fernando,  near  Los  Angelos. 

A.  2  oz.  purchased  from  Mr.  Neligh. 

B.  Sand  found  in  washing  gold,  which  contains  small  particles. 

11.  Captain  Frisbie,  Dry  Diggings,  Weber's  Creek. 

12.  Consumnes. 

13.  Consumnes,  Hartvvell's  Ranch. 

1  have  the  honor  to  be  your,  most  ob't  ser't, 

R.  B.  MASON,  Col.  1st  Dragoons,  Commanding. 
Brig.  Gen.  R.  JONES,  Adj.  Gen.  U.  S.  A.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

[NoTE. — The  original  letter,  of  which  this  is  a  copy,  was  sent  to  its  ad- 
dress, in  charge  of  Lieut  L.  Loeser,  3d  Artillery,  bearer  of  dispatches,  who 
sailed  in  the  schooner  Larabayecana,  from  Monterey,  Aug.  30,  1848,  bound 
for  Payta,  Peru.  Lieut.  Loeser  bears,  in  addition  to  the  specimens  mentioned 
m  the  foregoing  letter,  a  tea-caddy  containing  two  hundred  and  thirty  ounces 
fifteen  pennyweights  and  nine  grains  of  gold.  This  was  purchased  at  San 
Francisco  by  my  order,  and  is  sent  to  you  as  a  fair  sample  of  the  gold  ob- 
tained from  the  mines  of  the  Sacramento.  It  is  a  mixture,  coming  fromihd 
various  parts  of  the  gold  district. 

R.  B.  MASON,  Col.  1st  Drag.  Comd'g. 

HEADQUARTERS  lOxn  MIL.  DEPARTMENT, 
Monterey,  (Cal.,)  Sept.  10th,  1648.] 


PURITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  GOLD  DUST. 


The  numerous  analyses  which  have  been  made  show  that  the  gold  dust 
of  California  is  remarkably  pure.  The  editor  of  the  Buffalo  Commercial 
Advertiser,  under  date  of  December  20th,  1848,  says: — 

"A  small  quantity  of  California  gold  was  shown  us  this  morning.  It  was 
in  grains,  about  the  size  and  shape  of  flax  seed.  Altogether  there  was  half 
an  ounce.  It  was  received  by  a  gentleman  of  this  city,  who,  last  year,  left 
a  quantity  of  goods  in  California  for  sale  on  commission.  A  few  days  ago 
he  received  advices  that  his  goods  had  been  sold,  and  the  proceeds  remitted 
in  gold  dust  to  New  York.  The  receipts  from  the  mint  show  its  great  purity. 
The  weight  before  melting  was  423  ounces;  after  melting  417.  Nett  value, 
$7,685  49." 

Gold  is  seldom  found,  in  any  parts  of  the  earth,  more  than  22  carats  fine: 
and  it  will  be  seen  by  the  following  report  lately  made  by  an  experienced 


PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY    OF    CALIFORNIA.  435 

smelter  and  refiner,  Mr.  John  Warwick,  of  New  York  city,  that  the  gold 
dust  of  California  is  as  pure  as  that  found  in  any  part  of  this  country. 
Probably  there  is  none  in  Europe  purer: 

"1  have  assayed  the  portion  of  gold  dust,  or  metal,  from  California,  sent 
me,  and  the  result  shows  that  it  is  fully  equal  to  any  found  in  our  Southern 
gold  mines. 

I  return  you  lOf  grains  out  of  the  12  which  I  have  tested  —  the  value  of 
which  is  45  cents.  It  is  21 J  carats  fine — within  half  a  carat  of  the  quality 
of  English  sovereigns  or  American  Eagles,  and  is  almost  ready  to  go  to  the 
mint. 

The  finest  gold  metal  we  get  is  from  Africa,  which  is  22J  to  23  carats 
fine.  In  Virginia  we  have  mines  where  the  quality  of  the  gold  is  much 
inferior  —  some  of  it  as  low  as- 19  carats,  and  in  Georgia  the  mines  produce 
it  nearly  22  carats  fine. 

The  gold  of  California  which  I  have  now  assayed,  is  fully  equal  to  that  of 
any,  and  much  superior  to  some  produced  from  the  mines  in  our  Southern 
Slates." 


PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Whatever  appertains  to  California,  the  new  El  Dorado  of  the  southwest,  is 
interesting  to  Americans  and  indeed  to  the  whole  civilized  world.  The 
following  brief  account,  therefore,  of  its  physical  geography,  compiled  from 
authenic  sources  and  carefully  condensed,  'will  readily  receive  the  attention 
of  the  inquiring  mind: 

•*  Upper  California  extends,  upon  the  Pacific,  from  the  32d  parallel  of  lati- 
tude, about  seven  hundred  miles  north-westward  to  Oregon,  from  which  it 
is  divided,  nearly  in  the  course  of  the  42d  parallel  —  that  is  in  the  latitude 
of  Boston  —  by  a  chain  of  highlands  called  the  Snowy  Mountains;  the 
Sierra  Nevada  of  the  Spaniards.  Its  boundaries  on  the  west  are  not,  as  yet, 
politically  determined  by  the  Mexican  government;  nor  do  geographers 
agree  with  regard  to  natural  limits  in  that  direction.  By  some,  it  is  consid- 
ered as  embracing  only  the  territory  between  the  Pacific  and  the  summit  of 
the  mountains  which  border  the  western  side  of  the  continent:  others 
extend  its  limits  to  the  Colorado;  while  others  include  in  it,  and  others  again 
exclude  from  it,  the  entire  regions  drained  by  that  river.  The  only  portion 
occupied  by  Mexicans,  or  of  which  any  distinct  accounts  have  been  obtained, 
is  that  between  the  great  chain  of  mountains  and  the  ocean;  the  country 
east  of  that  ridge  to  the  Colorado  appears  to  be  an  uninhabitable  desert. 

"Northward  from  the  Peninsula,  or  Lower  California,  the  great  western- 
most chain  of  mountains  continues  nearly  parallel  with  the  Pacific  coast,  to 
the  34th  degree  of  latitude,  under  which  rises  Mount  San  B-  aardin,  one  of 
the  highest  peaks  in  California,  about  forty  miles  from  tr»  jcean.  Further 
north  the  coast  turns  more  to  the  west,  and  the  space  jiween  it  and  the 
summit  line  of  the  mountains  becomes  wider,  so  as  **  exceed  eighty  miles 
in  some  places;  the  intermediate  region  being  traversed  by  lines  of  hills,  or 
smaller  mountains,  connected  with  the  main  range.  The  principal  of  these 
inferior  ridges  extends  from  Mount  San  Bernardin  north-westward  to  its 
termination  on  the  south  side  of  the  entrance  of  the  Bay  of  San  Franciso, 
near  the  38th  degree  of  latitude,  where  it  is  called  the  San  Bruno  Moun- 
tains. Between  this  range  and  the  coast  run  the  San  Barbara  Mountains, 
terminating  on  the  north  at  the  Cape  of  Pines,  on  the  south-west  side 


436  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

of  the  Bay  of  Monterey,  near  the  latitude  3G§  degrees.  North  of  the  San 
Bruno  mountains  is  the  Bolbones  ridge,  bordering  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco 
on  the  east;  and  still  further  in  the  same  direction  are  other  and  much 
higher  lines  of  highlands,  stretching  from  the  great  chain  and  terminating 
in  capes  on  the  Pacific. 

"  The  southern  part  of  Upper  California,  between  the  Pacific  and  the 
great  westernmost  chain  of  mountains,  is  very  hot  and  dry,  except  during  a 
short  time  in  winter.  Further  north  the  wet  season  increases  in  length, 
and  about  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  the  rains  are  almost  constant  from 
November  to  April^  the  earth  being  moistened  during  the  remainder  of  the 
year  by  heavy  dews  and  fogs.  Snow  and  ice  are  sometimes  seen  in  the 
winter  on  the  shores  of  the  bay,  but  never  further  south,  except  on  the 
mountain  tops.  The  whole  of  California  is,  however,  subject  to  long 
droughts."  Heavy  rains  are  of  rare  occurrence,  and  two  years  without  any 
is  not  unusual;  notwithstanding  which,  vegetation  does  not  suffer  to  the 
extent  that  might  be  inferred,  because,  in  the  first  place,  many  small  streams 
descend  from  the  mountain  ranges,  supplying  the  means  of  both  natural 
and  artificial  irrigation;  and,  next,  that  the  country  near  the  coast  is  favored 
with  a  diurnal  land  and  sea  breeze;  and,  from  the  comparatively  low  tem- 
perature of  the  sea,  the  latter  is  always  in  summer  accompanied  with  fogs, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  night,  and  which  are  dissipated  by  the  morning's 
sun,  but  serve  to  moisten  the  pastures  and  nourish  a  somewhat  peculiar 
vegetation  abounding  in  beautiful  flowers. 

"Among  the  valleys  of  Upper  California  are  many  streams,  some  of 
which  discharge  large  quantities  of  water  in  the  rainy  season;  but  no  river 
is  known  to  flow  through  the  maritime  ridge  of  mountains  from  the  interior 
to  the  Pacific,  except  perhaps  the  Sacramento,  falling  into  the  Bay  of  San 
Francisco,  though  several  are  thus  represented  on  the  maps.  The  valleys 
thus  watered  afford  abundant  pasturage  for  cattle,  with  which  they  are 
covered;  California,  however,  contains  but  two  tracts  of  country  capable  of 
supporting  large  numbers  of  inhabitants,  which  are  that  west  of  Mt.  San  Ber- 
nardin,  about  the  34th  degree  of  latitude,  and  that  surrounding  the  Bay  of 
San  Francisco,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  Sacramento;  and  even  in  these, 
irrigation  would  be  indispensable  to  insure  success-  in  agriculture." 

"  The  provincial  terms  of  New  Mexico,  and  of  Upper  and  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, have  been,  and  are  yet,  rather  designations  of  indefinite  tracts  than 
of  real  defined  political  sections.  The  Pacific  ocean  limits  on  the  west,  and 
by  treaty,  N.  lat.  42°  on  the  north;  but  inland  and  southward,  it  is  in  vain 
to  seek  any  definite  boundary.  In  order,  however,  to  give  as  distinct  a  view 
as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit,  let  us  adopt  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado 
and  Gila,  or  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  as  a  point  on  the  southern 
boundary  of  Upper  California.  The  point  assumed  coincides  very  nearly 
with  N.  lat.  32*-  and,  if  adopted,  would  give  to  that  country  a  breadth  of  ten 
degrees  of  latitiK  or  in  round  numbers  800  statute  miles  from  south  to 
north.  As  alreao^  stated,  the  Pacific  Ocean  bounds  this  country  on  the 
west,  and  lat.  4'2'^  oi>  he  north.  To  separate  it  on  the  east  from  New  Mex- 
ico, we  must  assume  the  mountain  chain  of  Sierra  Madre,  or  Anahuac, 
which,  in  this  region,  inclines  but  little  from  north  to  south:  whilst  the 
Pacific  coast  extends  in  general  course  north-west  and  south-east.  These 
opposite  outlines  contract  the  southern  side  to  about  500  miles,  and  open  the 
northern  side  to  rather  above  800  miles;  giving  a  mean  breadth  of  650 
miles.  The  area,  for  all  general  purposes,  may  be  safely  taken  at  500,000 
square  miles.  The  general  slope  or  declination  of  this  great  region  is  west- 
ward, towards  the  Pacific  and  Gulf  of  California." 


PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY    OF    CALIFORNIA.  437 

"  The  climate  of  the  western  slope  of  North  America  has  a  warmth  ten 
degrees  at  least  higher  than  the  eastern,  upon  similar  latitude.  The  cause 
of  this  difference  is  the  course  of  prevailing  winds  in  the  temperate  zones 
of  the  earth,  from  the  western  points.  Thus  the  winds  on  the  western  side 
of  the  continent  are  from  the  ocean,  and  on  the  eastern  from  the  land. 

**  The  soil  is  as  variable  as  the  face  of  the  country.  On  th«  coast  range 
of  hills  there  is  little  to  invite  the  agriculturist,  except  in  some  vales  of  no 
great  extent.  The  hills  are,  however,  admirably'  adapted  for  raising  herds 
and  flocks,  and  are  at  present  the  feeding-grounds  of  numerous  deer,  elk, 
&c.,  to  which  the  short,  sweet  grass  and  wild  oats  that  are  spread  over  them 
afford  a  plentiful  supply  of  food.  The  valley  of  tho  Sacramento,  and  that 
of  San  Juan,  are  the  most  fruitful  parts  of  California,  particularly  the  latter, 
which  is  capable  of  producing  wheat,  Indian  corn,  rye,  oats,  &c.,  with  all 
the  fruits  of  the  temperate,  and  many  of  the  tropical  climates.  It  likewise 
offers  pasture  grounds  for  cattle.  This  region  comprises  a  level  plain,  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  miles  in  width,  extending  from  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco, 
beyond  the  mission  of  that  name,  north  and  south.  This  may  be  termed 
the  garden  of  California:  but  although  several  small  streams  and  lakes  serve 
to  water  it,  yet  in  dry  seasons  or  droughts,  not  only  the  crops  but  the  herb- 
age also  suffers  extremely,  and  the  cattle  are  deprived  of  food."  The  most 
extensive  portion  of  Upper  California — the  inland  plain  between  the  Cali- 
fornia and  the  Colorado  range  of  mountains — is  an  arid  waste,  destitute  of 
the  requisites  for  supplying  the  wants  of  man.  This  plain  is  a  waste  of  sand, 
with  a  few  detached  mountains  (some  of  which  rise  to  the  region  of  perpet- 
ual snow,)  whose  positions  are  unknown;  from  these  flow  small  streams  that 
are  soon  lost  in  the  sand.  A  few  Indians  are  scattered  over  the  plain,  the 
mo*t  miserable  objects  in  creation." 

The  climate  is  very  peculiar,  the  thermometer  on  the  coast  ranging  as 
high,  on  the  average,  in  winter  as  in  summer.  Indeed,  snmrner  is  really 
the  coldest  and  most  disagreeable  part  of  the  year,  owing  to  the  north- wesl 
winds  which  frequently  prevail  during  that  season.  As  you  recede  from  the 
coast,  however,  the  climate  undergoes  a  great  change  for  the  better.  At 
San  Juan,  thirty  miles  from  the  coast,  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  climates 
in  the  world.  The  two  principal  rivers  in  Upper  California  are  the  Sacra- 
mento and  the  San  Joaquim.  There  are,  however,  many  smaller  streams 
flowing  through  the  different  valleys,  which  serve,  during  the  dry  season,  to 
irrigate  the  land.  The  only  navigable  stream  is  the  Sacramento. 

Beside  the  bays  and  harbors  of  Monterey,  Santa  Barbara  and  San  Pedro, 
Upper  California  possesses  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco,  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  Gold  Mines,  and  one  of  the  largest  and  most  magnificent  harbors  in 
the  world. 

"  The  yield  of  wheat,  small  grain,  and  vegetables,  is  said  to  be  great,  and 
very  remarkable,  but,  as  agriculture  cannot  succeed  in  Upper  California,  but 
by  irrigation,  it  has  hitherto  happened  that  it  has  been  principally  occupied 
as  a  pastoral  country — as  costing  less  labor  to  rear  cattle,  for  which  it  is  only 
necessary  to  provide  keepers,  and  have  them  marked.  The  numerous  ani- 
mals which  are  there  slaughtered  for  little  more  than  their  hides  and  tallow, 
do  not  putrify  and  become  offensive  as  they  would  in  other  climates,  but,  as 
wood  is  not  everywhere  as  abundant  as  their  bones,  the  last  are  sometimes 
used  to  supply  the  place  of  the  former,  in  the  construction  of  garden 
fences  &c. 

"The  area  of  Upper  California  is  about  500,000  square  miles,  and  the 
population,  exclusive  of  Indians  scattered  over  this  extent,  as  follows: 


438  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

Californians  descended  from  Spain 4000 

Americans  from  United  States, 360 

English,  Scotch,  and  Irish 300 

European  Spaniards, 80 

French  and  Canadians .'. .  80 

Germans,  Italians,  Portugese,  and  Sandwich  Islanders,  90 

Mexicans, 90 

Total,  , 5000 

"Upper  California  is,  on  the  whole,  admirably  fitted  for  colonization. 
This  province  presents  the  greatest  facilities  for  raising  cattle,  for  cultivating 
corn,  plants,  and  for  the  grape;  it  might  contain  twenty  millions  of  inhabi- 
tants; and  its  ports  are  a  point  of  necessary  communication  for  vessels  going 
from  China  and  Asia  to  the  western  coasts  of  North  America. 

44  It  is  beyond  doubt,  that  so  soon  as  an  intelligent  and  laborious  population 
is  established  there,  this  country  will  occupy  an  elevated  rank  in  the 
commercial  scale;  it  would  form  the  entrepot  where  the  coasts  of  the  great 
ocean  would  send  their  products,  and  would  furnish  the  greatest  part  of  their 
subsistence  in  grains  to  the  north-west,  to  Mexico,  to  Central  America,  to 
Ecuador,  to  Peru,  to  the  north  coast  of  Asia,  and  to  many  groups  of  Poly- 
nesia— such  as  the  Sandwich  isles,  the  Marquesas,  and  Tahiti." 

"  The  peninsula  of  Lower  California,  extending  from  Cape  San  Lucas  to 
the  Bay  of  Todos  Santos,  in  lat.  32°  N.,  on  the  Pacific,  and  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Colorado  on  the  Gulf  side,  is  a  pile  of  volcanic  debris  and  scoriae.  Much 
of  the  surface  is  still  heated  by  subterranean  fires.  No  craters  are  in  action; 
but  hot  springs  of  water  and  bitumen,  and  frequent  earthquakes,  and  the 
scorched  face  of  the  whole  region,  demonstrate  it  to  be  a  mere  mass  upheaved 
from  the  sea,  and  burned  to  cinders.  The  range  of  mountains  that  comes 
up  through  Lower  California,  runs  on  northwardly  into  Upper  California,  at 
an  average  distance  of  sixty  or  seventy  miles  from  the  sea,  till  it  falls  away 
into  low  hills  south  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco.  This,  also,  is  a  volcanic 
range;  though  not  so  strongly  marked  to  that  effect  in  the  Upper  as  in  the 
Lower  Province. 

44  Some  portions  of  this  range  are  lofty.  That  part  lying  east  and  south- 
east of  El  Pueblo  de  los  Angelos,  is  tipped  with  perpetual  snows.  But  the 
greater  part  of  it  presents  a  base  covered  up  to  more  than  half  of  the  whole 
elevation  with  pine  and  cedar  forests;  the  remaining  height  being  composed 
of  bare,  dark,  glistening  rocks,  lying  in  confused  masses,  or  turreted  in  the 
manner  observed  on  the  Black  Hills  in  the  Great  Prairie  Wilderness — spires, 
towers,  and  battlements,  lifted  up  to  heaven,  among  which  the  white  feathery 
clouds  of  beautiful  days  rest  shining  in  the  mellow  sun. 

44  The  Snowy  Mountain  range  is  perhaps  the  boldest  and  most  peculiar  of 
the  California  highlands.  Its  western  terminus  is  Cape  Mendocino,  a  bold 
snow-capped  headland,  bending  over  the  Pacific  in  40°  north  latitude.  Its 
western  terminus  is  in  the  Wind  River  Mountains,  latitude  42°  N.,  about 
seven  hundred  miles  from  the  sea.  Its  peculiarity  consists  in  what  may  be 
termed  its  confused  geological  character.  Near  the  sea  its  rocks  are  primi- 
tive, its  strata  regular.  A  hundred  miles  from  the  sea  where  the  President's 
range  crosses  it,  everything  is  fused — burned;  and  at  the  distance  of  seventy 
miles  northeastwardly  from  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  a  spur  comes  off  with 
a  lofty  peak,  which  pours  out  immense  quantities  of  lava,  and  shoots  up  a 
flame  so  broad  and  bright  as  to  be  seen  at  sea,  and  lo  produce  distinct 
shadows  at  eighty  miles'  distance.  Here  is  an  extensive  tract  of  this  range 


PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY    OF    CALIFORNIA.  43d 

which  has  been  burned,  and  whose  strata  have  been  torn  from  their  natural 
positions:  displaying  an  amalgamated  mass  of  primitive  rocks,  ex  loco, 
mingled  with  various  descriptions  of  volcanic  remains.  From  this  point 
eastward,  it  is  a  broken  irregular  chain  of  peaks  and  rifted  collateral  ranges, 
and  spurs  running  off  northwardly  and  southwardly,  some  of  which  are 
primitive  and  others  volcanic. 

"  Another  range  of  mountains  which  deserves  notice  in  this  place,  is  that 
which  bounds  the  valley  of  the  San  Joaquim  on  the  east.  This  is  a  wide 
and  towering  range.  It  is  in  fact  a  continuation  of  the  President's  range, 
and  partakes  very  strongly  of  its  volcanic  character.  That  part  of  it  which 
lies  eastwardly  from  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  is  very  broad  and  lofty 
One  of  its  peaks,  Mount  Jackson,  as  it  is  called,  is  the  highest  in  all  the 
President's  range.  Mountains  of  great  size  are  piled  around  it,  but  they 
appear  like  molehills  beside  that  veteran  mount.  Its  vast  peak  towers  over 
them  all  several  thousand  feet,  a  glittering  cone  of  ice. 

•*  All  over  the  Californias,  the  traveler  finds  evidences  of  volcanic  action. 
Far  in  the  interior,  among  the  deserts;  in  the  streams;  in  the  heights;  in  the 
plains;  everywhere,  are  manifestations  of  the  fact,  that  the  current  of  sub- 
terranean fire  which  crossed  the  Pacific,  throwing  up  that  line  of  islands 
lying  on  the  south  of  the  Sea  of  Kamschatka,  and  passed  down  the  continent, 
upheaving  the  Oregon  territory,  did  also  bring  up  from  the  bed  of  the  ocean 
the  Californias. 

"  The  peninsula,  or  Tower  California,  which  extends  from  Cape  San  Lucas 
in  N.  lat.  22°  48",  to  the  Bay  of  Todos  Santos  in  lat  32°  N.,  is  a  pile  of 
barren  volcanic  mountains,  with  very  few  streams,  and  still  fewer  spots  of 
ground  capable  of  sustaining  vegetation.  The  territory  lying  north  and 
south  of  the  Colorado  of  the  west,  and  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Cali- 
fornias, is  a  howling  desolation. 

"  From  the  highlands  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Colorado,  a  wild  and 
somewhat  interesting  scene  opens.  In  the  east  appears  a  line  of  mountains 
of  a  dark  hue,  stretching  down  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  These  heights  are  generally  destitute  of  trees;  but  timber  grows  in 
some  of  the  ravines.  The  general  aspect,  however,  is  far  from  pleasing. 
There  is  such  a  vastness  of  monotonous  dessolation;  so  dry,  so  blistered  with 
volcanic  fires;  so  forbidding  to  the  wants  of  thirsting  and  hungering  men, 
that  one  gladlv  turns  his  eye  upon  the  water,  the  Mar  de  Corlcz,  the  Gulf 
of  California."  The  Colorado,  two  and  a  half  miles  in  width,  rushes  into 
this  Gulf  tvijh  great  force,  lashing  as  it  goes  the  small  islands  lying  at  its 
mouth,  and  for  many  leagues  around  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  are  discolored 
by  its  turbulent  flood.  On  the  west,  sweep  away  the  mountains  of  Lower 
California.  These  also  are  a  thirsty  mass  of  burned  rocks,  so  dry  that  vege- 
tation finds  no  resting-place  among  them. 

**  That  province  of  Lower  Califonnia  varies  from  thirty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  in  width,  a  superficial  extent  almost  equal  to  that  of  Great 
Britain;  and  yet  on  account  of  its  barrenness,  never  will,  from  the  products 
of  the  soil,  maintain  five  hundred  thousand  people  in  a  state  of  comfort, 
ordinarily  found  in  the  civilized  condition.  Every  few  years  tornadoes 
sweep  over  the  country  with  such  violence,  and  bearing  with  them  such 
floods  of  rain,  that  whatever  of  soil  has  been  in  any  manner  previousiy 
formed,  is  swept  into  the  sea.  So  that  even  those  little  nooks  among  the 
mountains,  where  the  inhabitants  from  time  to  time  make  their  fields,  and 
task  the  vexed  earth  for  a  scanty  subsistence,  are  liable  to  be  laid  bare  by  the 
torrents.  In  case  the  soil  chance  to  be  lodged  in  some  other  dell,  before  it 
reach  the  Ocean  or  the  Gulf,  and  the  people  follow  it  to  its  new  location. 


44:0  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

they  find  perhaps  no  water  there  and  cannot  cultivate  it.  Consequently  they 
are  often  driven  by  dreadful  want  to  some  other  point  in  quest  oi  sustenance, 
where  they  may  not  find  it,  and  perish  among  the  parched  highlands.  The 
mean  range  of  temperature  in  the  whole  country  in  the  summer  season  is 
from  60°  to  74°  Fahrenheit.  The  rains  fall  in  the  winter  months;  are  very 
severe,  and  of  short  duration.  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  the  air  is 
dry  and  clear;  and  the  sky  more  beautiful  than  the  imagination  can  conceive. 

"The  range  of  mountains  occupying  the  whole  interior  of  this  country, 
vary  in  height  from  one  to  five  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
They  are  almost  bare  of  all  verdure,  mere  brown  piles  of  barrenness,  sprin- 
kled here  and  there  with  a  cluster  of  briars,  small  shrubs,  or  dwarf  trees. 
Among  the  ridges  are  a  few  spots  to  which  the  sweeping  rains  have  spared 
a  little  soil.  These,  if  watered  by  springs  or  streams,  are  beautiful  and 
productive.  There  are  also  a  few  places  near  the  coast  which  .are  well 
adapted  to  tillage  and  pasturage. 

"  But  the  principal  difficulty  with  this  region,  is  one  common  to  all  coun- 
tries of  volcanic  origin, —  a  scarcity  of  water.  The  porousness  of  the  rocks 
allows  it  to  pass  under  ground  to  the  sea.  Consequently  one  finds  few 
streams  and  springs  in  Lower  California.  From  the  Cape  San  Lucas  to  the 
month  of  the  Colorado,  six  hundred  miles,  there  are  only  two  streams  emp- 
tying into  the  Gulf.  One  of  these  is  called  San  Josef  del  Cabo.  It  passes 
through  the  plantations  of  the  Mission  bearing  the  same  name,  and  dischar- 
ges itself  into  the  bay  of  San  Barnabas.  The  other  is  the  Mulege,  which 
waters  the  Mission  of  Santa  Rosalia,  and  enters  the  Gulf  in  latitude  27°  N. 
These  are  not  navigable.  The  streams  on  the  ocean  coast,  also,  are  few  and 
small.  Some  of  them  are  large  enough  to  propel  light  machinery,  or  irri- 
gate considerable  tracts  of  land,  but  none  of  them  are  navigable.  In  the 
interior  are  several  large  springs,  which  send  out  aoundant  currents  along 
the  rocky  beds  of  their  upper  courses;  but  when  they  reach  the  loose  sands 
and  porous  rocks  of  the  lower  country,  they  sink  and  enter  the  sea  through 
subterranean  channels.  A  great  misfortune  it  is  too,  that  the  lands  which 
border  those  portions  of  these  streams  which  run  above  the  ground,  consist 
of  barren  rocks.  Where  springs,  however,  and  arable  land  occur  together, 
immense  fertility  is  the  consequence.  There  is  some  variety  of  climate  on 
the  coasts,  which  it  may  be  well  to  mention.  On  the  Pacific  shore  the  tem- 
perature is  rendered  delightfully  balmy  by  the  sea  breezes,  and  the  humidity 
which  they  bring  along  with  them.  "  Fahrenheit's  thermometer  ranges  on 
this  coast,  during  the  summer,  between  fifty-eight  and  seventy-one  degrees. 
In  the  winter  months,  while  the  rains  are  falling,  it  sinks  as  low  as  fifty 
degrees  above  zero.  On  the  Gulf  coast  there  is  a  still  greater  variation. 
While  at  the  Cape,  the  mercury  stands  between  sixty  and  seventy  degrees, 
near  the  head  of  the  Gulf  it  is  down  to  the  freezing  point. 

"  These  isolated  facts,  in  regard  to  the  great  territory  under  consideration, 
will  give  the  reader  as  perfect  an  idea  of  the  surface  and  agricultural  capaci- 
ties of  Lower  California  as  will  be  here  needed. 


DIFFERENT  ROUTES  TO  CALIFORNIA. 

There  are  four  different  routes  to  California  from  the  United  States.  One 
is  from  New  York  to  Vera  Cruz,  thence  across  Mexico  by  the  Diligencia,  to 
Acapulco  on  the  Pacific,  where  all  the  northern  bound  vessels  touch.  This 


ROUTES    TO    CALIFORNIA.  441 

route  woula  be  preferable  to  all  others,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  road 
from  Vera  Cruz  to  Acapulco  is  infested  with  robbers. 

Another  route  is  by  steam  around  Cape  Horu  —  along  voyage,  though 
perhaps  th»  cheapest  rotKe.  It  should  be  performed  in  our  winter,  when  it 
is  summer  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere  and  consequently  warmer  at  Capo 
Horn  than  at  any  other  season  of  the  year.  The  fare  on  this  route  by  steam 
is  about  $350.  The  time  of  performing  the  voyage  is  about  130  days. 

Another  route  is  by  the  Isthmus  of  Darieii.  The  fare  on  this  route  is  as 
follows: 

From  New  York  to  Chagres  (by  steam)          .         .   :*~.  ••    $150 
From  Chagres  to  Panama,  across  the  Isthmus         .         .  20 

From  Panama  to  San  Francisco 250 

From  New  York  to  Chagres  (by  sailing  vesssl)      .         .  80 

The  time  of  the  voyage  is  as  follows: — 

From  New  York  to  Chagres  .         .         .         .     12  to  15  days. 

From  Chagres  to  Panama  ....  g     •• 

From  Panama  to  San  Francisco  ...  20     •« 

The  following  description  of  Chagres  and  Panama,  will  be  found  both 
interesting  and  valuable  to  the  traveler  on  this  route. 

THE  TOWN  OF  CHAGRES, 

as  it  is  usually  called,  but  in  reality  village,  or  collection  of  huts,  is,  as  is 
well  known,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Chagres,  where  it  empties 
itself  into  the  Atlantic  ocean. 

It  is  but  a  small  village,  and  the  harbor  is  likewise  small,  though  secure. 
It  is  formed  by  the  jutting  out  of  a  narrow  neck  of  land,  and  is  defended 
by  the  castle,  which  is  built  on  a  high  bluff  on  the  other  side.  The  village 
itself,  as  I  have  before  said,  is  merely  a  collection  of  huts,  and  is  situated  in 
the  midst  of  a  swamp  —  at  least  the  ground  is  low,  and  the  continual  rains 
which  prevail  at  Chagres,  keep  it  in  a  swampy  condition,  Chagres  is  in- 
habited by  colored  people,  entirely,  with  the  exception  of  some  few  officials 
at  the  castle  and  in  the  custom-house.  Its  population,  (I  speak,  of  course, 
of  it  previous  to  the  influx, )  was  probably  not  more  than  500  in  all,  if  so 
much. 

ITS  CLIMATE 

is,  without  doubt,  the  most  pestiferous  for  whites  in  the  whole  world.  The 
coast  of  Africa,  which  enjoys  a  dreadful  reputation  in  this  way,  is  not  go 
deadly  in  its  climate  as  is  Chagres.  The  thermometer  ranges  from  78a  to 
B5*3  all  the  year,  and  it  rains  every  day.  Many  a  traveler  who  has  incau- 
tiously remained  there  for  a  few  days  and  nights,  has  had  cause  to  remember 
Chagres;  and  many  a  gallant  crew,  who  have  entered  the  harbor  in  full 
health,  have,  ere  many  days,  found  their  final  resting  place  on  the  dank  and 
malarious  banks  of  the  river.  Bilious,  remittent,  and  congestive  fever,  in 
their  most  malignant  forms,  seem  to  hover  over  Chagres,  ever  ready  to 
pounce  down  on  the  stranger.  Even  the  acclimated  resident  of  the  tropics 
runs  a  great  risk  in  staying  any  time  in  Chagres;  but  the  stranger  fresh  from 
the  North  and  its  invigorating  breezes,  runs  a  most  fearful  one. 

THE  RIVER  JOURNEY 

is  performed  in  canoes,  propelled  up  the  stream  by  means  of  poles.  There 
are  two  points  at  which  one  may  land,  viz  :  the  villages  of  Gorgona  and 
Cruces.  The  distance  from  Chagfres  to  the  first  named,  is  about  45  or  50 
miles  —  to  the  latter,  some  50  or  55  miles.  The  traveler,  who  for  the  first 


442  GOLD   REGIONS    OF    CALl FORMA. 

time  in  his  life  embarks  on  a  South  American  river  like  the  Chagres,  cannot 
fail  to  experience  a  singular  depression  of  spirits  at  the  dark  and  sombre 
aspect  of  the  scene.  In  the  first  place,  he  finds  himself  in  a  canoe,  so  small 
that  he  is  forced  to  lay  quietly  in  the  very  centre  of  the  stern  portion,  in 
order  to  prevent  it  upsetting.  The  palm  leaf  thatch  (or  toldo,  as  it  is  termed 
on  the  river)  over  his  portion  of  the  boat,  shuts  out  much  of  the  view,  while 
his  baggage,  piled  carefully  amidships,  and  covered  with  oil  cloths,  encerra- 
dos  as  they  are  termed,  is  under  the  charge  of  his  active  boatman,  who, 
stripped  to  the  buff,  wi.th  long  pole  in  hand,  expertly  propels  the  boat  up 
stream,  with  many  a  cry  and  strange  exclamation.  The  river  itself  is  a 
dark,  muddy,  and  rapid  stream  ;  in  some  parts  quite  narrow,  and  again  at 
other  points  it  is  from  300  to  500  yards  wide.  Let  no  one  fancy  that  it 
resembles  the  bright  and  cheerful  rivers  which  are  met  with  here  at  the 
North.  No  pleasant  villages  adorn  its  banks — no  signs  of  civilization  are 
seen  on  them,  nothing  but  the  sombre  primeval  forest,  which  grows  with  all 
the  luxury  of  the  tropics  down  to  the  very  margin  of  its  swampy  banks. 

A  light  canoe  with  two  active  boatmen  and  but  one  passenger  in  it,  will 
reach  Cruces  in  ten  or  twelve  hours,  whilst  a  heavier  one  might  require 
thirty-six  hours  to  accomplish  the  passage.  The  passenger  must  take  his 
provisions  with  him,  as  none  are  to  be  had  on  the  river. 

A  doubloon  ($16)  was  the  lowest  charge  for  a  single  passenger,  and  from 
that  up  to  two,  three,  and  even  four  doubloons.  As  for  taking  our  boats 
from  here,  and  rowing  them  up  the  river,  I  should  think  it  would  be  a 
hopeless  attempt.  Hardy  boatmen  from  our  southwestern  States,  who  are 
accustomed  to  a  much  similar  mode  of  travel  on  their  rivers,  would  prob- 
ably be  able  to  accomplish  it;  but  in  that  burning  and  unhealthy  climate,  for 
young  men  fresh  from  the  North,  unacquainted  with  the  dangers  of  such 
navigation,  and  all  unacclimated,  to  attempt  such  a  feat  would  be  madness 
indeed. 

Let  us,  however,  suppose  the  journey  completed,  and  our  adventurer 
safely  arrived  at 

CRUCES 

He  may  now  congratulate  himself  on  having  achieved  the  most  toilsome 
part  of  his  journey,  and  but  twenty-one  miles  of  land  route  intervene 
between  him  and  the  glorious  Pacific  Ocean.  Cruces  is  a  small  village,  sit- 
uated on  a  plain,  immediately  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  which  here  are 
high  and  sandy.  Gorgona,  the  other  landing  place,  is  a  few  miles  below 
Cruces,  and  is  likewise  a  small  village,  very  similar  to  Cruces — in  fact,  all 
South  American  villages  resemble  one  another  very  much.  From  these 
two  points,  both  about  the  same  distance  from  Panama,  there  are  roads  to 
that  city,  which  roads  unite  about  nine  miles  from  it.  Starting  from  either 
point  he  commences  his 

JOURNEY  ACROSS  THE  ISTHMUS. 

The  usual  method  of  performing  it,  is  on  horse  or  on  mule-back,  with 
another  mule  to  carry  the  baggage  and  a  muleteer  who  acts  as  guide.  The 
road  is  a  mere  bridle"  path,  and  as  the  rains  on  the  Isthmus  are  very  heavy, 
and  there  is  more  or  less  of  them  all  the  year  round,  the  mud-holes  and 
swampy  places  to  be  crossed  are  very  numerous.  Those  who,  at  the  North, 
talk  gaily  of  a  walk  across  the  Isthmus,  as  if  the  road  were  as  plain  and  easy 
as  some  of  our  macadamized  turnpikes,  would  alter  their  tone  a  little,  could 
they  see  the  road  as  it  is.  As  for  walking  from  Cruces  to  Panama,  in  case 
mules  are  scarce,  the  feat  is  by  no  means  impossible,  provided  the  traveler 
arrives  in  Cruces  in  good  health,  and  has  but  little  baggage.  It  might  easily 


ROUTES    TO    CALIFORNIA  443 

be  done  wilh  the  assistance  of  a  guide;  but  let  no  stranger,  unacquainted 
with  the  language  and  new  to  such  countries,  attempt  it  without  a  guide. 
Having,  then,  fairly  started  from  Cruces,  either  on  horse  or  on  foot,  after  a 
toilsome  journey  of  some  eight  or  ten  hours,  the  Savanna  of  Panama  is  at 
last  reached,  and  the  sight  of  the  broad  and  glittering  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
the  white  towers  of  the  Cathedral  of  Panama,  which  are  seen  at  the  distance 
of  about  four  miles  from  the  city,  give  the  now  weary  traveler  assurance 
that  his  journey  will  shortly  end;  and  another  hour's  toil  brings  him  to  tho 
suburbs  of  the  famed 

CITY  OF  PANAMA. 

We  will  find,  however,  that  with  this,  as  with  most  other  South  American 
cities, 

"'Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view, 
And  clothes  the  mountain  with  its  azure  hue." 

The  city  of  Panama  is  situated  on  the  shores  of  the  bay  of  that  name, 
and  a  most  beautiful  bay  it  is,  too.  What  is  the  number  of  the  present 
population,  I  cannot  say,  as  it  is  doubtless  filled  with  strangers — it  formerly 
contained  from  5000  to  7000  inhabitants,  and  was  a  quiet,  still  city,  where, 
during  the  day,  nought  but  the  sounds  of  the  convent  bell  and  church  bells 
disturbed  the  horses  of  the  citizens  in  their  grazings  in  the  public  squares, 
which  were  all  overgrown  with  grass.  The  trade  carried  on  consisted  in 
importing  dry  goods  from  Jamaica,  for  the  supply  of  the  Isthmenians,  the 
neighboring  produce  of  Veragua,  the  Pearl  Islands,  the  towns  of  Chiriqui, 
David,  and  their  vicinities,  and  the  various  little  inland  towns.  Goods  also 
were  sent  down  to  the  ports  of  Payta,  in  Peru,  and  Guayaquil,  in  the  Ecua- 
dor. The  returns  made  for  these  goods,  consisted  in  the  produce  of  the 
Isthmus:  such  as  gold  dust,  hides,  India  rubber,  pearl  oyster  shells,  (from 
which  the  mother  of  pearl  of  commerce  is  made,)  sarsaparilla,  &c.  The 
climate  is  warm,  say  from  80  to  80  degrees  all  the  year  round  —  the  rainy 
season  long  and  severe.  The  nights  in  Panama,  however,  are  much  cooler 
than  usual  in  tropical  climate. 

The  other  route  is  the  overland,  by  Independence.  The  details  of  this 
route  are  given  below  by  Mr.  Edwin  Bryant,  the  author  of  •'  What  I  saw  in 
California."  They  were  communicated  to  the  Louisville  Courier  in  answer 
to  questions  but  to  Mr.  B.  by  the  editor: — 

First — Which  route  by  land  is  the  best  for  the  emigrant? 

Answer  —  The  route  via  Independence  or  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  to  Fort 
Daramie,  South  Pass,  Fort  Hall,  the  Sink  of  Mary's  River,  &c.  &c.  the 
old  route.  Let  no  emigrant,  carrying  his  family  with  him,  deviate  from  it, 
or  imagine  to  himself  that  he  can  find  a  better  road.  This  road  is  the  best 
that  has  yet  been  discovered,  and  to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  and  the  gold 
regions  it  is  much  the  shortest.  The  Indians,  moreover,  on  this  route, 
have,  up  to  the  present  time  been  so  friendly  as  to  commit  no  acts  of 
hostility  on  the  emigrants.  The  trail  is  plain  and  good,  where  there  are  no 
physical  obstructions  and  the  emigrant,  by  taking  this  route,  will  certainly 
reach  his  destination  in  good  season,  and  without  disaster.  From  our  infor- 
mation we  wonld  most  earnestly  advise  all  emigrants  to  take  this  trail* 
without  deviation,  if  they  wonld  avoid  the  fatal  calamities  which  almost 
invariably  have  attended  those  who  have  undertaken  to  explore  new  routes. 

Second  —  What  kind  of  wagon  and  team  is  preferable? 

Ansicer  —  The  lio-h-test  wagon  that  can  be  constructed  of  sufficient 
strength  to  earn'  2,500  pounds  weight,  as  the  vehicle  most  desirable.  No 
wagon  should  be  loaded  over  this  weight,  for  if  it  is,  it  will  be  certain  to 


444  GOLJ    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

stall  in  the  muddy  sloughs  and  crossings  on  the  prairie  in  the  first  part  of 
the  journey.  This  wagon  can  be  hauled  by  three  or  four  yokes  of  oxen  or 
six  mules."  Oxen  are  usually  employed  by  the  immigrants  for  hauling  theii 
wagons.  They  travel  about  fifteen  miles  per  day,  and  all  things  considered, 
are  perhaps  equal  to  mules  for  this  service,  although  they  cannot  travel  so 
fast.  They  are,  however,  less  expensive,  and  there  is  not  so  much  dangei 
of  their  starving  and  of  being  stolen  by  the  Indians. 

Pack-mules  can  only  be  employed  by  parties  of  men.  It  would  be  very 
difficult  to  transport  a  party  of  women  and  children  on  pack-mules  with  the 
provisions,  clothing  and  baggage  necessary  to  their  comfort.  A  party  of 
men,  however,  with  pack-mules,  can  make  the  journey  in  less  time  by  one 
month  than  it  can  be  done  in  wagons,  carrying  with  them,  however,  nothing 
more  than  their  provisions  clothing  and  amunition. 

For  parties  of  men  going  out,  it  would  be  well  to  haul  their  wagons, 
provisions,  &c.,  as  far  as  Fort  Laramie  or  Fort  Hall  by  mules,  carrying 
with  them  pack-saddles  and  alforgases,  or  large  saddle-bags,  adapted  to  the 
pack  saddle,  with  ropes  for  packing,  &c.,  when,  if  they  saw  proper,  they 
could  dispose  of  their  wagons  for  Indian  ponies,  and  pack  into  California, 
gaining  perhaps  two  or  three  weeks'  time. 

Third  — What  provisions  are  necessary  to  a  man? 

Ansicer  —  The  provisions  actually  necessary  per  man  are  as  follows. 

Of  Flour 150  Ibs.       I       Of  Bacon, 150  Ibs. 

Coffee, 25  "  Sugar, 30    " 

Added  to  these,  the  main  items,  there  should  be  a  small  quantity  of  rice, 
fifty  or  seventy-five  pounds  of  crackers,  dried  peaches,  <&c.,  and  a  keg  of 
lard,  with  salt,  pepper,  &c.,  with  such  other  luxuries  of  light  weight  as  the 
person  out-fitting  chooses  to  purchase.  He  will  think  of  them  before  he 
starts. 

Fourtii  — What  arms  and  ammunition  are  necessary? 

Answer  —  Every  man  should  be  provided  with  a  good  rifle,  and  if  con- 
venient with  a  pair  of  pistols,  five  pounds  of  powder  and  ten  pounds  of 
lead.  A  revolving  belt  pistol  may  be  found  useful. 

With  the  wagon  there  should  be  carried  such  carpenter's  tools  as  a  hand- 
saw, auger,  gimblet,  chisel,  shaving-knife,  &c.,  an  axe,  hammer,  and 
hatchet.  The  last  weapon  every  man  should  have  in  his  belt,  with  a 
hunter's  or  a  bowie  knife. 

Fifth  — What  is  the  length  of  the  journey  ? 

Answer  —  From  Independence  to  the  first  settlement  in  California,  which 
is  near  the  gold  region,  is  about  2050  miles  —  to  San  Francisco,  2290  miles. 

Sixth — What  is  the  time  for  starting? 

Answer  —  Emigrants  should  be  at  Independence,  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  or  the 
point  of  starting,  by  the  20th  of  April,  and  start  as  soon  thereafter  as  the 
grass  on  the  prairies  will  permit.  This  is  sometimes  by  the  first  of  May, 
and  sometimes  ten  days  later,  according  to  the  season. 


THE  GOLD  REGIONS  — MISCELLANEOUS  MATTER. 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  written  by  Thomas  O.  Larkin  to  Mi 
Buchanan,  the  Secretary  of  State.     It  is  dated  at  Monterey,  June  28,  184ft. 

1   am  of   the  opinion  that  on  the  American  fork,   Feather  River,  and 
Copimes   River,  there  are  near  two  thousand  people,  nine-tenths  of  them 


MISCELLANEOUS   MATTER.  445 

foreigners.  Perhaps  there  are  one  hundred  families,  who  have  their  teams, 
wagons  and  tents.  Many  persons  are  waiting  to  see  whether  the  months  of 
July  and  August  will  be  sickly,  before  they  leave  their  present  business  to 
go  to  the  "Placer."  The  discovery  of  this  gold  was  made  by  some  Mor- 
mons, in  January  or  February,  who  for  a  time  kept  it  a  secret;  the  majority 
of  those  who  are  working  there  began  in  May.  In  most  every  instance  the 
men,  after  digging  a  few  days,  have  been  compelled  to  leave  for  the  purpose 
of  returning  home  to  see  their  families,  arrange  their  business  and  purchase 
provisions.  I  feel  confident  in  saying  there  are  fifty  men  in  this  «* placer" 
who  have  on  an  average  $1000  each,  obtained  in  May  and  June.  1  have 
not  met  with  any  person  who  had  been  fully  employed  in  washing  gold  one 
month;  most,  however,  appear  to  have  averaged  an  ounce  per  day.  I  think 
there  must,  by  this  time,  be  over  1000  men  at  work  upon  the  different 
branches  of  the  Sacramento;  putting  their  gains  at  $10,000  per  day,  for 
six  days  in  the  week,  appears  to  me  not  overrated. 

Should  this  news  reach  the  emigration  of  California  and  Oregon,  now  on 
the  road,  connected  with  the  Indian  wars,  now  impoverishing  the  latter 
country,  we  should  have  a  large  addition  to  our  population;  and  should  the 
richness  of  the  gold  region  continue,  our  emigrants  in  1849  will  be  many 
thousand,  and  in  1850  still  more.  If  our  countrymen  in  California  as  clerks, 
mechanics  and  workmen  will  forsake  employment  at  from  $2  to  $6  per  day, 
how  many  more  of  the  same  class  in  the  Atlantic  States,  earning  much  less, 
will  leave  for  this  country  under  such  prospects?  It  is  the  opinion  of  many 
who  have  visited  the  gold  regions  the  past  and  present  months,  that  the 
ground  will  afford  gold  for  many  years,  perhaps  for  a  century.  From  my 
own  examination  of  the  rivers  and  their  banks,  1  am  of  opinion  that,  at 
least  for  a  few  years,  the  golden  products  will  equal  the  present  year. 
However,  as  neither  men  of  science,  nor  the  laborers  now  at  work,  have 
made  any  explorations  of  consequence,  it  is  a  matter  of  impossibility  to  give 
any  opinion  as  to  the  extent  and  richness  of  this  part  of  California.  Every 
Mexican  who  has  seen  the  place  says  throughout  their  Republic  there  has 
never  been  any  "placer  like  this  one." 

Could  Mr.  Polk  and  yourself  see  California  as  we  now  see  it,  you  would 
think  that  a  few  thousand  people,  on  ICO  miles  square  of  the  Sacramento 
valley,  would  yearly  turn  out  of  this  river  the  whole  price  our  country  pays 
for  the  acquired  territory.  When  I  finished  my  first  letter  I  doubted  my 
own  writing,  and,  to  be  better  satisfied,  showed  it  to  one  of  the  principal 
merchants  of  San  Francisco,  and  to  Capt.  Folsom,  of  the  Quartermaster's 
Department,  who  decided  at  once  I  was  far  below  the  reality.  You  cer- 
tainly will  suppose,  from  my  two  letters,  that  I  am,  like  others,  led  away  by 
the  excitement  of  the  day.  I  think  1  am  not.  In  my  last  I  inclosed  a  small 
sample  of  the  gold  dust,  and  I  find  my  only  error  was  in  putting  a  value  to 
the  sand.  At  that  time  I  was  not  aware  how  the  gold  was  found;  I  now 
can  describe  the  mode  of  collecting  it. 

A  person  without  a  machine,  after  digging  off  one  or  two  feet  of  the 
upper  ground,  near  the  water  (in  some  cases  they  take  the  top  earth,) 
throws  into  a  tin  pan  or  wooden  bowl  a  shovel  full  of  loose  dirt  and  stones; 
then  placing  the  basin  an  inch  or  two  under  water,  continues  to  stir  up  the 
dirt  with  his  hand  in  such  a  manner  that  the  running  water  will  carry  off 
the  light  earths,  occasionally,  with  his  hand,  throwing  out  the  stones;  after 
an  operation  of  this  kind  for  twenty  or  thirty  minutes,  a  spoonful  of  small 
black  sand  remains;  this  is,  on  a  handkerchief  or  cloth,  dried  in  the  sun, 
the  emerge  is  blown  off,  leaving  the  pure  gold.  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
inclosing  a  paper  of  this  sand  and  gold,  which  I,  from  a  bucket  of  dirt  and 


446  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

stones,  in  half  an  hour,  standing  at  the  edge  of  the  water,  washed  out 
mysell'.  The  value  ef  it  may  be  $2  or  $3. 

Tiie  size  of  the  gold  depends  in  some  measure  upon  the  river  from  which 
it  is  taken,  the  banks  of  one  river  having  larger  grains  of  gold  than  another. 
[  presume  more  than  one-half  of  the  gold  put  into  pans  or  machines  is 
washed  out  and  goes  down  the  stream;  this  is  of  no  consequence  to  the 
washers,  who  care  only  for  the  present  time.  Some  have  formed  companies 
of  four  or  five  men,  and  have  a  rough-made  machine  put  together  in  a  day, 
which  worked  to  much  advantage,  yet  many  prefer  to  work  alone,  with  a 
wooden  bowl  or  tin  pan,  worth  fifteen  or  twenty  cents  in  the  States,  but  eight 
to  sixteen  dollars  at  the  gold  region.  As  the  workmen  continue,  and  mate- 
rials can  be  obtained,  improvements  will  take  place  in  the  mode  of  obtaining 
gold;  at  present  it  is  obtained  by  standing  in  the  water,  and  with  much 
severe  labor,  or  such  as  is  called  here  severe  labor. 

How  long  this  gathering  of  gold  by  the  handful  will  continue  here,  or  the 
future  effect  it  will  have  on  California,  I  cannot  say.  Three-fourths  of  the 
houses  in  the  town  on  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  are  deserted.  Houses  are 
sold  at  the  price  of  the  ground  lots.  The  effects  are  this  week  showing 
themselves  in  Monterey.  Almost  every  house  I  had  hired  out  is  given  up. 
Even*  blacksmith,  carpenter  and  lawyer  is  leaving;  brick  yards,  saw  mills 
and  ranches  are  left  perfectly  alone.  A  large  number  of  the  volunteers  at 
San  Francisco  and  Sonoma  have  deserted;  some  have  been  retaken  and 
brought  back;  public  and  private  vessels  are  losing  their  crews:  my  clerks 
have  had  100  per  cent,  advance  offered  them  on  their  wages  to  accept  em- 
ployment. A  complete  revolution  in  the  ordinary  state  of  affairs  is  taking 
place;  both  of  our  newspapers  are  discontinued  from  want  of  workmen  and 
the  loss  of  their  agencies;  the  Alcaldes  have  left  San  Francisco,  and  1 
believe  Sonoma  likewise;  the  former  place  has  not  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
left. 

The  second  Alcalde  of  Monterey  to-day  joins  the  keepers  of  our  principal 
hotel,  who  have  closed  their  office  and  house,  and  will  leave  to-morrow  for 
the  golden  rivers.  I  saw  on  the  ground  a  lawyer  who  was  last  year  Attor- 
ney General  of  the  King  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  digging  and  washing  out 
his  ounce  and  a  half  per  day;  near  him  can  be  found  most  all  his  brethren 
of  the  long  robe,  working  in  the  same  occupation. 

To  conclude;  my  letter  is  long,  but  I  could  not  well  describe  what  I  have 
seen  in  less  words,  and  I  now  can  believe  that  my  account  may  be  doubted; 
if  the  affair  proves  a  bubble,  a  mere  excitement,  I  know  not  how  we  can  all 
be  deceived,  as  we  are  situated.  Gov.  Mason  and  his  staff  have  left  Mon- 
terey to  visit  the  place  in  question,  and  will,  I  suppose,  soon  forward  to  his 
department  his  views  and  opinions  on  this  subject.  Most  of  the  land  where 
gold  has  been  discovered,  is  public  land;  there  are,  on  different  rivers,  some 
private  grants.  I  have  three  such,  purchased  in  1846  and  '47,  but  have 
not  learned  that  any  private  lands  have  produced  gold,  though  they  may 
hereafter  do  so. 

Here  is  a  letter  of  great  sprightliness,  beauty  and  interest,  prepared  by 
that  finished  scholar  and  noted  writer,  the  Rev.  Walter  Colton,  Alcalde  of 
Monterey. 

MONTEREY,  California,  Aug.  29,  1848. 

The  gold  discoveries  still  continue  —  every  day  brings  some  new  deposit 
to  light.  It  has  been  found  in  large  quantities  on  the  Sacramento,  Feather 
River,  Yerba  River,  the  American  fork  —  North  and  South  branches  —  thd 
Cosamer,  and  iu  many  dry  ravines,  and  indeed  on  the  tops  of  high  hills 


MISCELLANEOUS    MATTER.  447 

Tho  tract  of  country  in  which  it  is  ascertained  to  exist,  extends  some  two 
iuind  ed  miles  North  and  South,  and  some  sixty  East  and  West;  and  these 
limits  are  every  day  enlarging  by  new  discoveries.  On  the  streams  where 
tiie  gold  has  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  water  and  sand,  it  exists  in  fino 
grain-!;  on  the  hills  and  among  the  clefts  of  the  rocks  it  is  found  in  rough, 
ia<r<red  pieces  of  a  quarter  or  half  an  ounce  in  weight,  and  sometimes  two 
or  three  ounces. 

The  gold  is  obtained  in  a  variety  of  ways;  some  wash  it  out  of  the  sand 
with  bowls,  some  with  a  machine  made  like  a  cradle,  only  longer  and  open 
at  the  foot,  while  at  the  other  end,  instead  of  a  squalling  infant,  there  is  a 
grating  upon  which  the  earth  is  thrown,  and  then  water;  both  pass  through 
the  grating, —  the  cradle  is  rocked,  and  being  on  an  inclined  plane,  the 
water  carries  off  the  earth,  and  the  gold  is  deposited  in  the  bottom  of  the 
cradle.  So  the  two  things  most  prized  in  this  world,  gold  and  infant  beauty, 
are  both  rocked  out  of  their  primitive  stage,  one  to  pamper  pride,  and  the 
other  to  pamper  the  worm.  Some  forego  cradles  and  bowls  as  too  tame  an 
occupation,  and  mounted  on  horses,  half  wild,  dash  up  the  mountain  gorges 
and  over  the  steep  hills,  picking  the  gold  from  the  clefts  of  the  rocks  with 
their  bowie  knives, —  a  much  better  use  to  make  of  these  instruments  than 
picking  the  life  out  of  men's  bodies;  for  what  is  a  man  with  that  article 
picked  out  of  him  ? 

A  larger  party,  well  mounted,  are  following  up  the  channel  of  the  Sacra 
mento,  to  discover  where  this  gold,  found  in  its  banks,  comes  from  ;  and 
imagine  that  near  the  river's  fount  they  will  find  the  great  yellow  mass  itself. 
But  they  might  as  well  hunt  the  fleeting  rainbow.  The  gold  was  thrown  up 
from  the  bed  of  the  ocean  with  the  rocks  and  sands  in  which  it  is  found;  and 
still  bears,  where  it  has  escaped  the  action  of  the  element,  vivid  traces  of 
volcanic  fire.  It  often  encases  a  crystal  of  quartz,  in  which  the  pebble  lies 
as  if  it  had  slumbered  there  from  eternity;  its  beautiful  repose  sets  human 
artifice  at  defiance.  How  strange  that  thit;  ore  should  have  lain  here,  scat- 
tered about  in  all  directions,  peeping  everywhere  out  of  the  earth,  and  spark- 
ling in  the  sun,  and  been  trod  upon  for  ages  by  white  men  and  savages,  and 
by  the  emissaries  of  every  scientific  association  in  the  world,  and  never  till 
now  have  been  discovered  I  What  an  ass  man  is,  with  all  his  learning  I 
He  stupidly  stumbles  over  hills  of  gold  to  reach  a  rare  pepper  pod,  or  rifle  a 
bird's  nest"! 

The  whole  country  is  now  moving  on  the  mines.  Monterey,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Sonoma,  San  Jose,  and  Santa  Cruz,  are  emptied  of  their  male  popu- 
lation. A  stranger  coming  here  would  suppose  he  had  arrived  among  a  race 
of  women,  who,  by  some  anomalous  prov;sion  of  nature,  multiplied  their 
images  without  the  presence  of  the  other  sex  But  not  a  few  of  the  women 
have  gone  too,  especially  those  who  had  got  out  of  tea — for  what  is  women 
without  her  tea  pot — a  pythoness  without  her  shaking  trypod — an  angel  that 
has  lost  his  lyre.  Every  bowl,  tray,  warming-pom,  and  piggin  has  gone  to 
the  mines.  Everything  in  short,  that  has  a  scoop  in  it  *hat  will  hold  sand 
and  water.  All  the  iron  has  been  worked  tip  into  crow-bars,  pick-axes  and 
spades.  And  all  these  roll  back  upon  us  in  the  shape  of  gold.  ^»  e  have, 
therefore,  plenty  of  gold,  but  little  to  eat,  and  still  less  to  wear.  Our  supplies 
must  come  from  Oregon,  Chili  and  the  United  States.  Our  grain  gold,  in 
exchange  for  coin,  sells  for  nine  and  ten  dollars  the  ounce,  though  it  is  well 
known  to  be  worth  at  the  mint  in  Philadelphia  eighteen  dollars  the  ounce  at 
least.  Such  is  the  scarcity  of  coin  here. 

We  want  a  mint.  Let  Congress  send  us  one  at  once  over  the  Isthmus; 
else  this  grain  gold  goes  to  Mazatlan,  to  Chili  aud  Peru — where  it  is  lost  to 


448  GOLD  REGIONS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

pur  national  currency.  Over  a  million  of  gold,  at  the  lowest  computation, 
is  taken  from  these  mines  every  month — and  this  quantity  will  be  more  than 
doubled  when  the  emigration  from  the  States,  from  Oregon,  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  the  Southern  republics  arrives.  Send  us  a  mint  !  I  could 
give  you  forty  more  illustrations  of  the  extent  and  productiveness  of  these 
mines,  but  no  one  will  believe  what  I  have  said  without  my  name,  and 
perhaps  but  few  with  k 


LETTER  FROM  CAPT.  FOLSOM. 

The  latest  and  most  authentic  intelligence  from  the  Gold  Regions  of  Cali- 
fornia, is  the  most  interesting  and  the  best.  The  following  letter  from  Capt. 
Folsom,  it  will  be  seen,  is  of  recent  date;  and  on  perusal  the  reader  will 
find  it  is  pregnant  with  valuable  facts: 

SA5  FRANCISCO,  CALIFORNIA,  Oct.  8th,  1848. 

Mr  DEAR  SIR: — The  prices  of  labor  here  will  create  surprise  in  the  Uni- 
ted States.  Kannakas,  or  Sandwich  Islanders,  the  worst  of  laborers,  are  now 
employed  constantly  about  town  in  storing  and  landing  merchandise  at  a 
dollar  an  hour  each;  and  the  most  indifferent  laborers  are  hired  by  the  week 
together  at  six  or  eight  dollars  per  day.  Mechanics  obtain,  when  employed 
by  the  day,  eight  or  ten  dollars  per  day,  and  by  the  month  about  six.  In  a 
few  days,  as  the  sickly  season  is  over,  I  presume  wages  will  advance,  for 
most  of  the  laboring  classes  are  returning  to  the  mines. 

I  have  just  completed  the  repairs  upon  a  government  lighter,  preparatory 
to  discharging  the  cargo  of  the  transport  ship  Huntress.  I  attempted  to  hire 
a  lighter  to  effect  this,  but  could  not  get  one  capable  of  containing  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  barrels  manned  by  two  rnen,  short  of  fifty  dollars  per  day. 
I  have  had  the  master  of  the  government  lighter  employed  for  several  days 
in  getting  a  crew  for  her;  and  when  he  offers  $80  per  month  for  sailors,  he 
is  laughed  at,  and  told  that  a  man  can  get  that  amount  at  the  mines  in  one 
day. 

A  few  days  since,  I  sent  a  wagon-master  to  employ  some  men  to  handle 
stores  in  the  public  warehouse.  After  searching  about  the  town  in  vain,  for 
several  hours,  he  saw  a  man  on  the  dock  whom  he  felt  sure  of  getting,  fo. 
the  individual  in  question  did  not  seem  to  be  blessed  with  a  redundancy  of 
this  world's  gear.  He  was  wearing  a  slouched  hat  without  a  crown,  a 
dilapidated  buckskin  hunting  shirt  or  frock,  a  very  uncleanly  red  woolen 
shirt,  with  pantaloons  hanging  in  tatters,  and  his  feet  had  an  apology  for  a 
covering  in  one  old  shoe,  and  one  buckskin  moccasin,  sadly  the  worse  for 
wear  and  age.  When  asked  if  he  wanted  employment,  he  replied  in  the 
affirmative;  and  as  the  young  man  was  proceeding  to  tell  him  what  he 
wished  to  have  him  do,  he  was  interrupted  with  "It  is  not  that  kind  of  work, 
sir,  that  I  want;  (at  the  same  time  taking  a  bag  containing  about  two  quarts 
of  gold  dust  from  his  buckskin  shirt,)  I  want  to  work  in  the  mines,  sir. 
Look  here,  stranger,  do  you  see  this?  This  bag  contains  gold  dust;  and  do 

you  suppose  I  am  to  make  a  d d  nigger  of  myself,  handling  boxes  and 

barrels  for  eight  or  ten  dollars  per  day?  1  should  think  not,  stranger!" 
And  our  friend  left  in  a  most  contemptuous  manner.  Nor  was  this  a  solitary 
instance  of  like  conduct;  they  occur  daily  and  hourly  in  this  village. 

All  sorts  of  labor  is  got  at  enormous  rates  of  compensation.  Common 
clerks  and  salesmen  in  the  stores  about  town  often  receive  as  high  as  $2500 
and  their  board.  The  clerk  now  in  my  office  is  a  young  boy,  who,  until  a 
few  weeks  since,  was  a  private  of  volunteers,  and  I  am  now  paying  him 
$1500  per  annum.  This  will  not  appear  high,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have 


MISCELLANEOUS    MATTER.  449 

just  seen  upon  his  table  a  wash  bill,  made  out  and  paid,  at  the  rate,  oi  eight 
dollars  per  dozen;  and  that  almost  every  thing  else  is  at  corresponding  pri- 
ces. The  principal  waiter  in  the  hotel  where  I  board  is  paid  $1,7UO  pur 
year,  and  several  others  from  $1,200  to  $1,500.  I  fortunately  have  an 
Indian  boy,  or  I  should  be  forced  to  clean  my  own  boots,  for  1  could  not 
employ  a  good  body  servant  for  the  full  amount  of  my  salary  as  a  govern- 
ment officer.  It  will  be  impossible  for  any  army  officer  to  live  here  upon  his 
pay  without  becoming  rapidly  impoverished,  for  his  time  is  not  his  own  to 
enter  upon  business;  and  although  be  might  have  money,  his  opportunities 
for  making  it  useful  to  him  are  few,  unless  he  invests  it  in  real  estate. 
Unless  something  is  done,  I  am  unable  to  see  how  it  is  possible  for  officers, 
living  upon  the  salaries  granted  by  law  to  military  men,  to  support  them- 
selves in  this  country. 

1  believe  every  army  officer  in  California,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
would  have  resigned  last  summer,  could  they  have  done  it  and  been  free  at 
once  to  commence  for  themselves.  But  the  war  was  not  then  terminated, 
and  no  one  could  hope  to  communicate  with  Washington  correspondents,  to 
get  an  answer  in  less  than  six,  and  perhaps  ten  months.  For  some  time 
last  summer,  (August  and  July,)  the  officers  at  Monterey  were  entirely 
without  servants;  and  the  Governor  (Col.  Mason,)  actually  took  his  turn  in 
cooking  for  his  mess.  Unless  some  prompt  action  is  taken  to  pay  both  offi- 
cers and  men  serving  in  this  country,  in  proportion  to  the  unavoidable 
expenses  to  be  incurred,  the  former  will  resign  and  the  latter  will  desert,  and 
it  will  be  impossible  to  maintain  a  military  force  in  California. 

I  look  upon  California  as  perhaps  the  richest  mineral  country  on  the  globe. 
I  have  written  you  at  great  length  as  to  the  gold,  and  since  the  date  of  that 
letter  other  and  richer  mines  have  been  discovered.  Rich  silver  mines  are 
known  to  exist  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  but  they  are  not  worked. 
Quicksilver  mines  are  found  at  innumerable  places,  and  many  of  them  afford 
the  richest  ores.  The  new  Almadin  mine  at  Santa  Clara  gives  the  richest 
ore  of  which  we  have  any  accounts.  With  very  imperfect  machinery,  it 
yields  upward  of  fifty  per  cent.,  and  the  proprietors  are  now  working  it,  and 
are  preparing  to  quadruple  their  force.  Iron,  copper,  lead,  tin,  sulphur,  zinc, 
platinum,  cobalt,  &c.  are  said  to  be  found  in  abundance,  and  most  of  them 
are  known  to  exist  in  various  sections  of  the  country. 

As  an  agricultural  territory,  its  great  disadvantage  is  a  want  of  rain;  but 
this  is  by  no  means  so  great  as  has  been  represented.-  I  believe  California 
can  be  made  to  produce  as  fine  wheat,  rye,  oats,  buckwheat,  barley,  vegeta- 
bles, and  fruits,  especially  grapes,  as  any  portion  of  the  world.  Nothing  that 
has  been  fairly  tried  has  failed,  and  nearly  every  thing  has  produced  wonder- 
fully. The  portions  of  the  soil  which  are  capable  of  cultivation  are  inconsid- 
erable in  comparison  with  the  whole  area  of  the  country;  but  the  soil  about 
this  bay,  and  in  many  of  the  large  valleys,  is  equal  to  the  wants  of  a  dense 
population.  It  is  proverbially  healthy,  and  with  the  exception  of  portions  of 
the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys,  no  country  ever  had,  at  the  same 
period  of  its  settlement,  a  more  salubrious  climate. 

1  think  California  affords  means  for  the  investment  of  capital  such  as  few 
other  countries  offer.  Any  person  who  could  come  in  here  now  with  ready 
cash  would  be  certain  of  doubling  his  money  in  a  few  months.  Large  for- 
tunes will  be  made  here  within  the  ensuing  year,  and  I  am  told  that  there 
are  some  hundreds  of  persons  who  have  already  made  on  an  average  $'25, 
000  each.  Whole  cargoes  of  goods  are  sold  at  an  average  of  about  150  per 
cent,  clear  profit,  and  ready  pay  in  gold  dust. 

When  I  came  to  this  place  f  expended  a  few  hundred  dollars  in  waste  lots, 


450  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

covered  with  bushes  and  sand  hills.  The  chapter  of  events  wh  ch  has  fol 
lowed  is  likely  to  make  this  property  quite  valuable,  if  1  am  able  to  look  after 
it.  What  cost  me  less  than  $»UO,  I  suppose  1  could  now  sell  for  $3,000  or 
perhaps  {jt>10>()OU.  It  is  this  consideration  which  makes  me  willing  to  return 
to  a  country  where  my  salary  is  insufficient  for  my  support.  If  Congress 
does  not  increase  the  pay  of  officers  serving  here,  i  should  still  be  willing  to 
return,  in  the  expectation  that  my  private  interests  would  justify  a  measure 
which  would  otherwise  be  certain  to  impoverish  me. 

Something  should  be  done  here  at  once  for  the  establishment  of  peace  and 
good  order  in  the  country.  All  law,  both  civil  and  military,  is  at  an  end. 
Among  the  mines,  and  indeed  in  most  parts  of  the  country  out  of  the  villa- 
ges, no  authority  but  that  of  the  strongest  exists,  and  outrages  of  the  most 
disgraceful  nature  are  constantly  occurring,  and  the  offenders  go  unpunished. 
There  are  now  about  twenty-five  vessels  in  this  port,  and  1  believe  there  is 
not  one  of  them  that  has  a  crew  to  go  to  sea.  Frequently  the  sailors  arm 
themselves,  take  the  ship's  boats,  and  leave  in  the  most  open  manner, 
defying  both  their  officers  and  the  civil  magistrates.  These  things  are  dis- 
graceful to  the  country  and  the  flag,  and  while  vessels  have  to  pay  port 
charges,  duties,  &c.,  their  owners  ought  to  be  protected.  The  tariff  law  of 
1846  is  now  in  force  in  California. 

We  have  not  had  an  American  man-of-war  in  this  port  for  more  than  a 
year,  and  all  the  naval  resources  of  the  United  States  on  this  coast  are  con- 
centrated at  Monterey,  which  is  not  a  harbor  but  an  open  roadstead,  and 
which  has  not  one-tenth  of  the  business  on  its  waters  which  is  done  in  this 
bay.  During  the  whole  year  that  I  was  collector  of  this  port,  there  was  not 
a  gun  mounted  for  commanding  the  entrance  of  the  port,  and  there  was  not 
a  United  States  man-of-war  in  the  harbor.  We  were  exacting  a  "military 
contribution,"  and  we  possessed  not  the  slightest  means  of  preventing  ves- 
sels from  leaving  in  defiance  of  our  authority. 

In  a  few  months  the  line  of  ocean  mail  steamers  will  be  in  operation  from 
Panama  to  Oregon,  and  this  port  is  to  be  a  depot  for  coal,  and  of  course  a 
stopping  point  in  passing  both  ways.  The  starting  of  the  line  of  steamers 
on  this  coast  is  likely  to  be  an  undertaking  of  very  great  difficulty,  and  at 
this  time,  such  is  its  importance,  with  reference  to  both  Oregon  and  Cali- 
fornia, that  its  failure  might  be  looked  upon  as  a  national  calamity.  Still, 
unless  some  kind  of  protection  is  extended  to  the  shipping  of  this  port,  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable  that  it  may  fail  for  want  of  the  necessary  laborers,  as 
soon  as  the  boats  reach  this  harbor.  Indeed,  it  is  altogether  probable,  unless 
some  competent  authority  is  found  here  at  the  time  to  preserve  order,  that 
the  crew  will  quit  in  a  body  as  soon  as  the  first  vessel  arrives. 

Every  possible  assistance  should  be  extended  to  insure  the  success  of  this 
company,  and  every  reasonable  latitude  should  be  granted  in  the  execution 
of  their  contract.  It  is  now  uncertain  if  the  steamers  can  enter  Columbia 
river  at  all  times  in  the  winter;  and  they  may  find  it  necessary  to  run  up  to 
Paget's  Sound.  This  would  be  a  small  inconvenience  in  comparison  to  the 
loss  of  one  of  these  vessels  upon  the  very  dangerous  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  —  an  event  not  at  all  improbable,  if  they  enter  that  river  in  the 
winter. 


NEWSPAPER  CORRESPONDENCE. 

The  following  letters  were  communicated  to  the  "California!!"  newspaper, 
and  exhibit  very  graphically  the  state  of  excitement  and  the  actual  state  ol 
things  in  the  Gold  Regions  during  last  summer. 


MISCELLANEOUS    MATTER.  451 

NEW  HELVETIA,  June  30,  1848. 

I  have  just  returned  from  Fort  Sacramento,  from  the  gold  region,  from 
whence  I  write  this;  and  in  compliance  with  my  promise,  on  leaving  the 
sea  coast,  I  send  you  such  items  as  I  have  gathered. 

Our  trip,  after  leaving  your  city,  byway  of  Pueblo,  San  Jose,  and  the  San 
Joaquin  river,  we  found  very  agreeable.  Passing  over  a  lovely  country, 
with  its  valleys  and  hills  covered  with  the  richest  verdure,  intertwined  with 
flowers  of  every  hue.  The  country  from  the  San  Joaquin  river  to  this 
place,  is  rich  beyond  comparison,  and  will  admit  of  a  dense  population. 

We  found  the"  fort  a  miuiature  Manchester,  a  young  Lowell.  The  black- 
smith's ham^ner,  the  tinner,  the  carpenter,  and  the  weaver's  shuttle,  plying 
by  the  ingenuity  of  Indians,  at  which  place  there  are  several  hundred  in  the 
employ  of  Capt.  J.  A.  Sutter.  I  was  much  pleased  with  a  walk  in  a  large 
and  beautiful  garden  attatched  to  the  fort.  It  contains  about  eight  or  ten 
acres,  laid  out  with  great  taste,  under  the  supervision  of  a  you  tig  Swiss. 
Among  the  fruit  trees  I  noticed  the  almond,  fig,  olive,  pear,  apple,  and 
peach.  The  grape  vines  are  in  the  highest  state  of  cultivation,  aud  for 
vegetables,  I  would  refer  you  to  a  seedman's  catalogue. 

About  three  miles  from  the  fort,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Sacramento,  the 
town  of  Suttersville  is  laid  out.  The  location  is  one  of  the  best  in  the 
country,  situated  in  the  largest  and  most  fertile  district  in  California,  and 
being  the  depot  for  the  extensive  gold,  silver,  platina,  quicksilver,  and  iron 
mines.  A  hotel  is  now  building  for  the  accomodation  of  the  travelling  pub- 
lic, who  are  now  obliged  to  impose  on  the  kind  hospitalities  of  Capt.  Sutter. 
A  party  of  men  who  have  been  exploring  a  route  to  cross  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mountains,  have  just  returned,  and  report  that  they  have  found  a  good  wagon 
road  on  the  declivity  ridge  between  the  American  fork  and  the  McCossamy 
rivers,  the  distance  being  much  less  than  by  the  old  route.  The  road  will 
pass  through  the  gold  district,  and  enter  the  valley  near  the  American  fork 
A  ferry  is  to  be  established  at  Suttersville,  on  the  Sacramento,  and  the 
road  across  the  tularic  improved  soon,  which  will  shorten  the  distance  from 
this  place  to  Sonoma  and  your  city,  about  60  miles. 

After  leaving  the  fort  we  passed  up  on  the  south  bank  of  the  American 
fork,  about  twelve  miles.  This  is  a  beautiful  river,  about  three  fathoms  deep 
the  water  being  very  cold  and  clear;  and  after  leaving  the  river  we  passed 
through  a  country  rolling  and  timbered  with  oak.  We  soon  commenced 
ascending  the  hills  at  the  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  which  are  thickly  set  with 
oak  and  pine  timber,  and  soon  arrived  at  a  small  rivulet.  One  of  our  party 
dipped  up  a  cupful  of  sand  from  the  bed  of  the  creek,  washed  it,  and  found 
five  pieces  of  gold.  This  was  our  first  attempt  at  gold  digging.  About  dark 
we  arrived  at  the  saw-mill  of  Captain  Sutter,  having  ridden  over  gold,  silver, 
platina  and  iron  mines,  some  twenty  or  thirty  miles.  The  past  three  days  I 
have  spent  in  exploring  the  mountains  in  this  district,  and  conversing  with 
many  men  who  have  been  at  work  here  for  some  weeks  past.  Should  I 
attempt  to  relate  to  you  all  that  I  have  seen,  and  have  been  told,  concerning 
the  extent  and  productions  of  the  mines,  I  am  fearful  your  readers  would 
think  me  exaggerating  too  much,  therefore  1  will  keep  within  bounds.  I 
could  fill  your  columns  with  the  most  astonishing  tales  concerning  the  mines 
here,  far  excelling  the  Arabian  Nights,  and  all  true  to  the  letter. 

As  near  as  I  can  ascertain,  there  are  now  about  2,000  persons  engaged, 
and  the  roads  leading  to  the  mines  are  thronged  with  people  and  wagons. 
From  one  to  nine  ounces  of  pure  virgin  gold  per  day  is  gathered  by  every 
man  who  performs  the  requisite  labor.  The  mountains  have  been  explored 
for  about  forty  miles,  and  gold  has  been  found  in  great  abundance  in  almost 


452  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA. 

every  part  of  thorn.  A  gentleman  informed  me  that  he  had  spent  some  time 
in  exploring  the  country,  and  had  dug  fifty-two  holes  with  his  butcher's 
knife  in  different  places,  and  found  gold  in  every  one. 

Several  extensive  silver  mines  have  been  discovered,  but  very  little  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  them  now.  Immense  beds  of  iron  ore,  of  superior  quality, 
yielding  85  to  90  per  cent.,  have  also  been  found  near  the  American  Fork. 

A  grist  mill  is  to  be  attached  to  the  saw  mill,  for  the  purpose  of  conveni- 
ence of  families  and  others  settling  at  the  mines.  The  water  power  of  the 
American  Fork  is  equal  to  any  upon  this  continent,  and  in  a  few  years  large 
iron  founderies,  rolling,  splitting  and  nail  mills  will  be  erected. 

The  granite  of  the  mountains  is  superior  to  the  celebrated  Quincy.  A 
quarry  of  beautiful  marble  has  been  discovered  near  the  McCossamy  river, 
specimens  of  which  you  will  see  in  a  few  years  in  the  front  of  the  Custom 
House,  Merchants'  Exchange,  City  Hall,  and  other  edifices  in  your  flour- 
ishing city. 

P.  S. — "  The  cry  is  still,  they  come."  Two  men  have  just  arrived  for 
provisions  from  the  Abjuba  river,  who  state  that  they  have  worked  five  days, 
and  gathered  $950  in  gold,  the  largest  piece  weighing  nearly  one  ounce. 
They  report  the  quantity  on  that  river  to  be  immense,  and  in  much  larger 
pieces  than  that  taken  in  other  parts. 

SONOMA,  Aug.  5, 1848. 

The  mining  fever  is  raging  here,  as  well  as  elsewhere.  Not  a  mechanic  or 
laboring  man  can  be  obtained  in  town,  and  most  of  our  male  citizens  have 
"  gone  up"  to  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  are  now  enjoying  "golden  moments." 
Spades,  shovels,  pick-axes,  hoes,  bottles,  vials,  snuff-boxes,  brass  tubes, 
earthern  jars,  and  even  barrels,  have  been  put  in  requisition,  and  have  also 
abruptly  left  town. 

I  have  heard  from  one  of  our  citizens  who  has  been  at  the  Gold  Placer  a 
few  weeks,  and  he  had  collected  $1,500  worth  of  the  •*  root  of  evil."  and 
was  still  averaging  $100  per  day.  Another  gent,  wife  and  boy  collected 
$500  worth  in  one  day.  Another* still,  who  shut  up  his  hotel  here  some  five 
or  six  weeks  since,  has  returned  with  $2,200  in  pure  virgin  gold,  collected 
by  his  own  exertions,  with  no  other  aid  than  a  spade,  pick  and  Indian 
basket. 

Three  new  and  valuable  lead  mines  have  recently  been  discovered  in  this 
vicinity,  and  one  of  our  citizens,  Mr.  John  Bowles,  of  Galena,  111. — a  gent, 
who  has  been  reported  by  the  Boston  press  as  having  been  murdered  by  the 
Indians,  on  the  Southern  route  to  Oregon,  from  the  States — informed  me 
that  the  ore  would  yield  90  per  cent.,  and  that  it  was  his  intention  to  erect, 
as  soon  as  practicable,  six  large  smelting  furnaces. 

The  Colonnade  Theatre,  at  this  place,  has  closed  for  the  season;  it  was 
well  attended,  however,  from  the  time  the  Thespians  made  their  debut  till 
they  made  their  exit  The  "  Golden  Farmer,"  the  "  Omnibus,"  and  a 
Russian  comedy  called  "  Feodora,'  (translated  from  the  German  of  Kotze- 
bue,  by  Mr.  F.  Linz,  of  Sonoma,)  were  their  last  attractions. 

The  military  company  under  command  of  Capt.  J.  E.  Brackett,  are  to- 
day exchanging  posts  with  Company  H.,  under  command  of  Captain  Fris- 
bie,  both  of  ihe  New  York  Volunteers.  Company  C.  has  been  stationed 
with  us  more  than  a  year,  and  much  praise  is  due  its  members,  not  only  for 
the  military  and  soldier-like  manner  in  which  they  have  acquitted  them- 
selves as  a  corps,  but  for  their  gentlemanly  and  orderly  deportment  individ- 
ually and  collectively,  We  regret  to  part  with  them,  and  cannot  let  them 
go  without  expressing  a  hope  that  when  peace  shall  have  been  declared, 
their  regiment  disbanded,  and  their  country  no  longer  needs  their  services, 


MISCELLANEOUS    MATTER.  453 

they  may  have  fallen  sufficiently  in  love  with  our  healthy  climate  and  our 
beautiful  valley  to  come  back  and  settle. 


GOLD. 

The  New  York  Evening  Post  has  an  article  upon  this  subject,  from  which 
we  take  the  following: 

The  places  where  it  is  found  are  much  more  numerous  than  we  might  at 
first  suppose.  The  mines  of  America,  however,  surpass  those  of  all  other 
countries.  Though  of  comparative  newness,  they  have  furnished  three 
times  and  a  half  more  gold  and  twelve  times  more  silver  than  those  of  the 
old  world.  Silver  and  gold  were,  before  the  discover}'  of  America,  supposed 
to  bear  to  each  other  the  relation  of  55  to  1.  In  Europe  the  proportion  is 
now  about  15  to  1. 

The  gold  of  Mexico  is  chiefly  found  m  argentiferous  veins,  as  at  Guana- 
xuato,  where  it  is  obtained  one  ounce  in  360.  The  only  auriferous  veins, 
worked  as  such,  are  at  Oaxaca.  The  rivers  in  Caraccas  flow  over  auriferous 
sands.  Peru  is  not  reported  rich  in  gold  at  present.  The  gold  of  New 
Grenada  is  found  in  alluvial  soil,  and  is  washed  out  in  the  shape  of  spangles 
and  grains.  The  gold  of  Chili  is  found  under  similar  circumstances.  Bra- 
zil formerly  brought  the  most  gold  to  market,  not  even  excepting  Russia, 
which  now,  however,  surpassses  her.  All  the  rivers  running  from  the  Bra- 
zilian mountains  have  gold,  and  the  annual  product  of  fine  metal  is  now 
rated  at  $5,000,000. 

There  are  no  very  late  tables  of  the  products  of  the  American  mines. 
We  have  ascertained,  by  accident  purely,  how  the  estimate  is  made  at 
present. 

From  1790  to  1830,  forty  years,  the  product  of  Mexico  was: — 

Gold "...  £6,436,453 

Silver 139,818,032 

Chili  — 

Gold £2,76S,488 

Silver 1,822,924 

Buenos  Ayres  — 

Gold £4,024,895 

Silver 27,182,673 

Add  to  this  Russia  — 

Gold £2,703,743 

Silver 1,502,981 

And  we  have  from  four  countries  alone  1880  millions  of  pounds  sterling,  OT 
forty-seven  millions  per  annum. 

If  we  add  the  products  of  Europe  and  Asiatic  Russia,  of  the  East  Indies 
and  Africa,  which  some  estimate  at  thirty-six  tons  of  gold  per  annum,  we 
perceive  that  a  vast  amount  of  the  precious  metal  is  unearthed  and  some- 
where in  use.  The  relative  value  of  gold  has  certainly  changed  very  much 
within  a  few  hundred  years,  and  it  probably  will  change  still  more.  But  we 
do  not  think  it  is  likely  to  depreciate  one-half  in  our  time,  for  many  reasons, 
though  some  persons  imagine  it  will. 

The  true  secret  of  all  this  present  excitement  is  this:  the  Anglo  Saxon 
race,  for  the  first  time  in  their  history,  own  and  occupy  gold  mines  of  very 
great  value.  Hitherto  Africans,  Asiatic  or  Indians,  have  held  them,  and 
ihey  have  never  shown  that  ardor  combined  with  perseverance  which  belongs 
to  us.  England  never  had  any  mines  of  gold,  or  she  would  have  worked 


454  GOLD    REGIONS    OP    CALIFORNIA. 

them  as  diligently  as  she  has  those  of  coal.  The  Americans  have  now  a 
golden  chance,  and  they  are  the  first  of  their  blood  that  have  ever  had  it 
They  will  be  sure  to  turn  the  opportunity  to  account- 

At  our  leisure  we  will  refer  to  some  other  interesting  facts,  in  relation  to 
the  value  of  gold  at  different  periods.  We  conclude  with  recalling  one  sin- 
gular circumstance  to  the  recollection  of  our  readers,  that  when  the  Romans 
captured  Jerusalem,  they  obtained  so  much  gold,  that  the  price  of  it  in  Syria 
fell  one  half. 


LIEUTENANT  L.  LOKSER,  of  the  Third  Artillery,  a  graduate  of  West  Point, 
furnishes  the  following  information  respecting  the  gold  region: 

"We  have  been  favored  by  Lieutenant  Loeser,  bearer  of  dispatches  from 
Governor  Mason  to  the  government  at  Washington  (who  also  brought  on 
about  $29,000  of  gold  dust,  which  he  deposited  at  Washington,)  with  a 
general  description  of  the  gold  region,  the  climate,  &c.,  of  California.  He 
says  the  gold  region  is  very  large,  and  there  is  sufficient  ore  to  profitably 
employ  one  hundred  thousand  persons  for  generations  to  come.  So  far  as 
discovered,  the  gold  is  found  in  an  extent  of  country  four  hundred  miles 
long,  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  wide,  and  no  particular  portion  seems  .more 
productive  than  another.  In  the  river  and  on  the  flatlands  the  gold  dust  is 
found;  but  among  the  rocks  and  in  the  highlands  it  is  found  in  lumps,  from 
the  size  of  a  man's  hand  to  the  size  of  an  ordinary  duck-shot,  all  of  which 
is  solid,  and  presents  the  appearance  of  having  been  thrown  up  by  a  volcanic 
eruption.  So  plenty  is  the  gold,  that  little  care  is  paid  to  the  washing  of  it 
by  those  engaged  when  he  left:  the  consequence  of  which  is  great  quantities 
are  thrown  away.  In  the  highlands  he  was  walking  with  a  man  who  found 
a  piece  weighing  about  thirty-five  pennyweights,  worth  $29,  but  which  he 
purchased  for  $4.  The  piece  is  solid,  and  has  the  form  of  a  perfect  acorn 
on  the  top  of  it.  He  has  had  it,  just  as  it  was  found,  converted  into  a  breast- 
pin. A  man,  by  ordinary  labor,  may  procure  from  $50  to  $iiOO  per  day. 
With  regard  to  the  climate,  he  says,  it  is  salubrious,  at  no  time  being  so  cold 
as  to  require  more  than  a  light  blanket  to  sleep  under.  When  he  left,  the 
people  were  sleeping  under  the  trees,  without  the  fear  of  sickness  from 
exposure.  The  rainy  season  begins  about  the  first  of  November,  and  con- 
tinues until  March,  though  there  are  five  clear  days  for  even,'  rainy  one. 
Provisions  are  generally  high,  at  least  such  as  cannot  be  obtained  in  the 
country.  Flour  is  worth  $80  per  barrel,  though  a  fine  bullock  may  be 
obtained  for  $3.  Clothing  is  very  high,  and  the  demand  is  very  great 
The  Indians,  who  have  heretofore  used  no  clothing  whatever,  now  endeavor 
to  imitate  the  whites,  and  will  give  any  price  for  garments.  The  report  rel- 
ative to  the  Mormons  requiring  30  per  cent,  of  all  the  gold  found,  he  says,  is  a 
mistake.  When  the  gold  was  first  discovered,  one  of  the  leaders  of  that 
people  demanded  that  amount  from  all  the  Mormons,  but  they  remonstrated, 
and  refused  to  pay  it,  which  remonstrance  caused  not  the  slightest  difficulty 
among  the  people.  He  was  in  San  Francisco  when  the  gold  was  first  dis- 
covered, about  forty  miles  from  that  place.  The  news  was  received  one 
day,  and  the  following  morning,  out  of  the  whole  company  to  which  he  was 
attached,  every  one  deserted  except  two  sergeants,  and  took  with  them  all 
the  horses  belonging  to  the  officers.  In  a  few  days  the  city  was  almost 
entirely  deserted,  and  Col.  Mason,  the  governor  of  the  territory,  was,  and 
has  ever  since  been,  obliged  to  prepare  and  cook  his  own  food.  A  servant 
cannot  be  had  at  any  price;  and  the  soldiers  have  not  sufficient  pav  for  a 
month  to  subsist  on  for  a  week.  The  salary  of  the  governor  is  not  sufficient 


MISCELLANEOUS    MATTEB.  455 

to  support  him;  and,  like  all  others  in  the  more  wealthy  circles  of  life,  he  is 
obli^Hcl  to  be  his  own  servant  He  speaks  of  the  country  as  offering  the 
greatest  inducements  to  young  men  of  enterprise,  and  thinks  there  is  ample 
room  and  <  old  lor  hundreds  of  thousands. 


ADVICE  TO  THOSE  GOING  TO  CALIFORNIA  BY  THE  CAPES. 

The  following  article,  condensed  from  correspondence  in  a  daily  paper  of 
New  York  City,  will  be  found  to  contain  many  valuable  hints  to  the  Califor- 
nia bound  traveler.  It  came  to  hand  too  late  to  appear  in  its  proper  place, 
where  the  four  different  routes  are  spoken  of  : 

The  first  grand  desideratum  is,  to  secure  comfort  on  the  passage,  by  the 
most  efficient  and  economical  means,  thereby,  as  far  as  possible  insuring  the 
arrival  of  the  company  at  their  destination  in  good  health  and  condition/1 

To  insure  the  most  perfect  health  and  comfort  attainable  on  so  long  8 
voyage,  a  vessel  should  not  be  fitted  up  as  our  European  passenger  ships  are, 
with  bunks  for  the  passengers  to  sleep  in,  but  the  berth  deck  should  be  free 
from  bulkheads  fore  and  al't.  This  arrangement  would  give  plenty  of  room 
for  the  company  to  swing  their  hammocks  or  cots,  which  could  be  stowed  on 
deck  in  pleasant  weather,  leaving  the  berth  deck  free  from  encumbrance,  for 
the  company  to  amuse  themselves  with  conversation  or  exercise.  Such  an 
arrangement  would  secure  a  more  perfert  ventilation  (a  very  important  con- 
sideration) than  bunks  could  possibly  admit  of,  as  bunks  unavoidably  harbor 
filth  and  vermin,  besides  leaving  very  little  room  for  the  exercise  so  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  preventing  the  diseases  incident  to  a  protracted  voyage. 
Before  the  company  proceeds  on  the  voyage,  each  member  should  subscribe 
to  a  code  of  regulations,  and  officers  be  appointed  to  carry  them  into  effect. 
This  arrangement  should  be  made  in  order  to  obviate  the  vexation  and  an- 
noyance which  inevitably  occur  wherever  a  large  number  of  persons  are 
promiscuously  on  shipboard.  A  simple  system,  such  as  regularity  of  meals 
and  cleansing  the  interior  of  the  ship,  similar  to  the  Navy  regulations  in  that 
particular,  are  indispensible  and  will  contribute  much  to 'the  pleasure,  com- 
fort, health,  and  good  fellowship  of  all  on  board. 

The  company  should  be  composed  of  practical  persons — Agriculturists, 
Mechanics,  and  Artisans,  as  nearly  equal  inpecuniary  condition  and  intelli- 
gence as  circumstances  will  admit,  and  it  would  be  very  important  for  the 
most  useful  and  necessary  arts  to  be  well  represented.  By  such  an  organi- 
zation, the  company  would  be  very  efficient;  for  by  taking  on  board  cloth, 
leather,  iron,  lumber,  brick,  &c.  their  clothing,  shoes,  iron  and  wood  work 
of  a  brick  house  might  be  made  on  board.  And  would  employ  the  various 
mechanics  connected  with  those  arts,  would  tend  to  relieve  the  "monotony  of 
the  ocean,  and  PRACTICALLY  illustrate  the  btnefits  and  many  advantages  of  a 
true  associati'  n  of  interests. 

The  agricultural  implements  of  the  most  approved  method,  together  with 
the  choicest  varieties  of  young  fruit  trees  and  garden  seeds,  should  be 
provided.  Instead  of  the  "usual  ballast  for  the  vessel,  brick  and  lime,  if 
necessary,  could  be  taken  for  that  purpose,  which  might  be  used  by  the 
company  or  disposed  of  to  great  advantage  at  San  Francisco.  The  vessel 
might  be  profitably  employed  in  transporting  passengers  to  and  from  the 
Isthmus,  with  great  profit  to  the  company,  of  which  the  officers  and  ship's 
company  should  be  members.  A  skillful  surgeon  should  belong  to  the 
association.  Every  member  of  the  company  should  contribute  all  the  useful 
books  he  could,  as  a  library  on  ship-board  would  be  a  constant  source  of 
amusement  and  instruction. 


456  GOLD    REGIONS    OF    CALIFORNIA 

Persons  about  embarking  on  so  long  a  voyage  should  be  very  particular 
and  have  their  provisions  carefully  put  up.  The  United  States  service 
rations  will  be  found  to  be  very  economical.  The  following  is  the  weekly 
allowance  per  man: — 

Sunday  — 14  oz.  bread,  !£  Ib.  beef,  \  Ib.  flour. 

Monday — 14  oz.  bread,  1  Ib.  pork,  \  pint  beans. 

Tuesday — 14  oz.  bread,  2  oz.  cheese,  1  Ib.  beef. 

Wednesday — 14  oz.  bread,  1  Ib.  pork,  \  pint  of  rice. 

Thursday  — 14  oz.  bread,  1|  Ibs.  beef,  f  Ib.  flour. 

Friday  — 14  oz.  bread,  4  oz.  cheese,  2  oz.  butter,  \  pint  rice,  \  pint 
molasses,  £  pint  vinegar. 

Saturday  — 14  oz.  bread,  1  Ib.  pork,  J  pint  beans,  \  Ib.  raisins. 
The  spirit  ration  is  omitted. 

This  is  sufficient  for  the  hardest-working  seaman.  The  flour  should  be 
kiln  dried;  any  baker  can  do  it.  It  is  only  necessary  to  evaporate  all  the 
moisture,  and  pack  it  in  air-tight  casks.  Pine-apple  'cheese  is  the  best  and 
should  be  put  up  in  water-tight  boxes,  saturated  in  alcohel.  Sour  crout, 
pickles,  &c.  are  excellent  anti-scorbutics,  and  should  be  eaten  freely.  Be 
careful  and  lay  in  a  good  store  of  "  salt  water  soap." 

N.  B.  The  flour  should  be  packed  in  casks  that  have  contained  distilled 
spirits. 

A  vessel  bound  for  California  by  the  way  of  Cape  Horn  by  touching  at 
Rio  Janeiro,  Brazil  and  Callao,  in  Peru,  would  divide  the  voyage  into  three 
periods,  increasing  its  interest  without  much  addition  to  its  length  of  time. 
Rio  Janeiro  has  one  of  the  most  magnificent  harbors  on  the  globe,  far 
surpassing  in  natural  grandeur  the  bay  of  Naples.  The  approach  to  the 
stupendous  mountain  coast  is  inexpressibly  grand.  The  entrance  to  the 
capacious  roadstead  is  through  a  narrow  strait  of  great  depth  of  water 
unobstructed  by  rock  or  shoal,  flanked  on  the  North  by  the  huge  fortress  of 
Santa  Cruz;  on  the  South  the  "Sugar  Loaf"  rock  proudly  rears  its  lofty 
cone  near  one  thousand  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  deep.  The  entire  bay  is 
nearly  surrounded  by  numerous  mountain  peaks  of  every  conceivable  form. 
Leaving  Rio  we  prepare  to  encounter  the  terrors  of  the  "Horn,"  having 
overcome  its  Westerly  gales  and  "head-beat  seas  "  debouching  on  the  vast 
Pacific,  we  career  onward  before  the  "  trades  "  to  Callao,  the  port  of  Lima 
and  capital  of  the  Peruvian  Republic.  Here  the  refreshments  peculiar  to 
the  Tropics  are  plenty  and  of  excellent  quality.  We  ride  at  anchor  over 
the  ancient  City  of  Callao,  (destroyed  and  sunk  by  an  earthquake  1746,)  iu 
sight  of  the  lofty  Andes,  the  mighty  cones  of  Pichnia  and  Cotopaxi  blazing 
their  volcanic  fires  far  above  the  region  of  eternal  snow,  their  ice-frosted 
summits  glittering  in  the  sun,  forming  a  dazzling  contrast  with  the  clear 
deep  azure  of  the  tropical  skies. 

Waving  adieu  to  Callao,  our  canvas  spread  to  woo  the  "trades,"  we 
sweep  onward  to  Alta-California,  and  entering  the  "  GoldeH  Gate  "  of  the 
Cornucopia  of  the  Pacific,  drop  our  anchor  in  the  bav  of  San  Francisco. 


PLEASE  READ  THIS  CIRCULAR. 


tl)c  American  People, 

AND  TO  THE  FRIENDS  OF  OUR  FREE  INSTITU- 
TIONS  GENERALLY. 


SCIENCE  O/  GOVERNMENT 

AND  COMPEND  OF  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  AND  CIVIL 

JURISPRUDENCE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

WITH   A   BRIEF 

TREATISE  ON  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 


BY  ANDREW  W.   YOUNG. 

TWENTIETH    EDITION. 

The  subjects  embraced  in  the  above  entitled  work,  are — 

I.  The  Principles  of  Government,  in  which  are  illustrated  the  nature,  objects,  and 
fundamental  principles  of  Civil  Government  and  Laws. 

II.  The  Government  of  the  United  States,  comprising  the  Constitution,  with  a  brief 
commentary,  showing  the  nature  and  design  of  its  several  provisions,  as  expressed  by 
the  framers  ;  and  an  abstract  of  the  laws  lor  carrying  into  effect  the  powers  of  the  gen- 
eral Government,  and  organizing  its  several  departments. 

III.  The  Civil  Jurisprudence  of  the  United  States,  being  an  epitome  of  the  common 
law  of  the  country,  prescribing  the  rights,  duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizens  in  the 
domestic  and  social  relations. 

IV.  Political  or  Public  Economy,  in  which  the  elementary  principles  of  this  science 
are  familiarly  explained. 

V.  The  Constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York,  adopted  November  3d,  1846. 

While  the  interests  of  Education  are  deservedly  receiving  much  attention,  it  is  not  a 
little  remarkable  that  the  Science  of  Government  has  hitherto  been  so  generally  m-i.1- 
lected. 

A  knowledge  of  our  Constitutional  and  Civil  Jurisprudence  can  scarcely  be  too  high- 
ly estimated.  The  very  idea  of  free  government,  pre-suppos&s  the  knowledge,  without 
it  people  cannot  know  how  to  govern.  The  elective  franchise  is  valuable  only  as  it  is 
exercised  intelligently. 

Questions  of  public  policy,  not  merely  affecting  the  common  interests  of  our  rountrv, 
but  involving  constitutional  principle*  and  even  liberty  itself,  are  not  unfrequently  d.-- 
cided  at  the  ballot  box.  Yet  multitudes  of  our  citizens  presume  to  exercise  the  pre- 
rogative of  freemen  without  knowing  what  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  freemen 
are.  The  poll  lists  of  our  State  are  annually  swelled  by  thousands  of  new  voters,  who 
have  never  given  the  Constitution  so  much  a>  ;i  eingle  reading  !  Can  our  liberties  !"• 
safe  in  such  hands!  Can  parents  reconcile  it  with  a  sense  of  duty  so  turn  their  PHI,- 
upon  a  community  thus  unprepared  for  the  great  business  of  self-government  ] 

UNIFORM  PRICE—  $1,25  in  Im.  Morocco  Binding.     Orders  should  l>e  n.l.h 
posl  paid,  to 

GEO.  H.  DERBY  &  CO., 

FMifkers,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


I3P  An  Agent  will  call  for  this  circular  and  show  a  sample  copy  of  the  Book. 

1 7'urn  ov«r. 


